Kano State governor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, has sacked his media adviser, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, with immediate effect.
Almost immediately, elder statesman and father of Salihu , Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, disclosed that his son, Mr. Salihu Tanko-Yakasai, the Special Adviser on Media to Ganduje has been arrested by security operatives.
Tanko Yakasai confirmed the arrest of his son to reporters in a telephone interview in Kano on Saturday. He said his son was arrested on Friday on his way to a barber’s shop in the city.
“Yes, Salihu has been with the security operatives since yesterday (Friday). He was arrested on his way to a barbing saloon. But I cannot confirm to you whether he is here in Kano or somewhere else,” he said.
Governor Ganduje relieved his SA on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai of his appointment over his continued unguarded comments and utterances which are deemed contrary to the stand of the (APC) government which he is serving.
The state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement Saturday, said the sack is with immediate effect.
He said the aide had failed to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public
Recall that Yakasai was earlier suspended by Ganduje after his remark about Buhari during the #EndSARS protest but was reinstated weeks after.
Salihu had called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to either deal with bandits in the country or resign.
Tanko-Yakasai spoke on Friday while reacting to students’ abduction at Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
A report then emerged on Saturday that he has been arrested by the Department of State Services which was however denied.
Shortly after his comments, Salihu Tanko Yakasai went under, and his whereabouts according to his friends could not be ascertained, resulting to many insinuating that the DSS must have whisked him away.
According to him, the fact that the development comes about a week after bandits also abducted some schoolboys in Kagara, Niger State, shows that the government has failed its primary responsibility.
He said the All Progressives Congress-led government had failed Nigerians, noting that it cannot continue to lament when tragedy occurs without taking any action to prevent a repeat.
He wrote on Twitter: “Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number 1 duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives & properties. Not a single day goes by without some insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign.
“Each time another tragedy happens, we lament, condemn, create a hashtag, the govt pretends to do something, no concrete steps to prevent re-occurrence, and then we repeat the process. To what end? Where are those saddled with the responsibility?
“Just last week, it was #freekagaraboys, today we have a new hashtag, #RescueJangebeGirls; who knows tomorrow what hashtag we will come up with? Perhaps one for ourselves when we get caught up in one of these daring attacks. This is sad & heartbreaking; I feel helpless & hopeless.”
– Media Report