A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima 2023 Presidential Campaign in Zamfara State, Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa, has countered the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, stating that northern elders are neither a burden nor paperweights whatsoever.

The northern elders had said they made a mistake by voting Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election and would not repeat it in 2027.

But reacting, Matawalle in a statement titled, "Tinubu Presidency: Northern Elders Forum, a political burden to the North, they do not speak for the region", described the northern elders as "paperweights and a burden."

However, Marafa in a statement yesterday said rather than negatively portraying the northern elders, Matawalle should have listed the achievements, programmes, policies and projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the North and the country as a whole in the first 10 months of the administration.

He said calling the elders of the region, who gave the highest number of votes to ensure victory for Tinubu, in the 2023 election was counterproductive and a great disservice.

The statement reads in part, "In the last one week, I have been inundated with calls from well-meaning and prominent stakeholders in our region and party, the APC, who know my relationship with the president.

"They are worried and disturbed that the unfortunate statement by the Minister of State for Defence, if not addressed, could affect the president's electoral fortunes in our region because it will be seen as if the minister spoke the mind of the president or the presidency.

"The crux of the matter is that whether you like them or not these people are called northern elders, so, unless they are stripped of that title by the people of the region, insulting them is tantamount to insulting the entire people of the region."