Buhari dissociates self from #Istandwithbuhari group

The presidency has formally dissociated itself from the
#Istandwithbuhari advocacy group and has demanded that the group
immediately stop claiming any alliance with the Buhari Administration.

A statement by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, Friday, said
the presidency also demanded that the persons behind the controversial
#Istandwithbuhari group should stop using President Muhammadu Buhari's
name and that of his wife, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari to promote
themselves and their activities.

"Among other reasons, we have found it necessary to distance the
Presidency from the #Istandwithbuhari group because its premature and
ostentatious celebration of the present administration's achievements
is totally inconsistent with President Buhari's philosophy of service
with humility.

"While the present administration has indeed recorded significant
successes in its priority areas of improving security across the
nation, ending the Boko Haram insurgency, curbing official corruption
and revamping Nigeria's economy, President Buhari is well aware that
his government still has a lot of national challenges to overcome.

"The President prefers to give his fullest attention to addressing
those challenges without the unsolicited and unwelcome distraction of
untimely praise-singing from groups with dubious and questionable
motives," the statement said.

#IstandWithBuhari, which formed just months into Mr. Buhari's tenure
and began canvassing support for the president, has been enmeshed in
controversies lately.

In early March, its national coordinator Mustapha Ramalan resigned
saying the group had derailed from its original path.

"Having led the organization these past couple of weeks, I have
reached a hard and inevitable decision of stepping down as its
national coordinator with immediate effect," Mr. Ramalan said. "If I
must lead the organization, I must be convinced more than anyone, on
the path we chose for ourselves," he stated in his resignation letter
sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

He told PREMIUM TIMES that he was not comfortable about how the group
was going about the nine million-man march.

An associate of Mr. Ramalan, Abdullahi Aliyu, also told this newspaper
that Mr. Ramalan had asked for the group's proposed nine million march
in support of Mr. Buhari to be shelved but was overruled by the group.
"Mr. Ramalan is of the opinion that the nine million-man pro-Buhari
march should be postponed because the government is still trying to
pick up and hence should be given more time to justify the nine
million-man march. Not this time," Mr. Aliyu said.

Earlier this week the group was also accused of receiving donations
from the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
Ibrahim Magu, who had attended at least one of the group's solidarity
rallies, and other government's agencies.

The director general of the group, Chinedu Okpalanma, in a post on
Facebook, however denied the allegations