The Northern Elders Forum have expressed disappointment and concern over President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday national address.

The forum, led by Prof Ango Abdullahi, criticised the President’s failure to address the severe security situation in the North-West and other northern regions.

Following the ongoing #Endbadgovernance protests across some states of the country, with the North-West states of Kaduna, Katsina and Kano mostly hit, the Northern Elders Forum said it was worried that the President did not speak on issues of banditry, kidnapping, rape and other criminal activities devastating the areas.

In a statement issued on Monday, signed by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, NEF said, “The President’s speech did not acknowledge the struggles of the North-West and other affected regions, nor provide reassurance or concrete plans to alleviate the security challenges.

“The NEF had high hopes for the President’s speech, expecting that he would address the dire humanitarian disaster that criminal activities have brought upon our nation. The scale of the crisis is immense, with millions of our fellow citizens displaced internally, and hundreds of thousands of orphans facing hunger and malnourishment. These are new and alarming realities previously unknown in our land.

“We expected the President to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and outline concrete plans for addressing these critical issues. The focus should have been on finding sustainable solutions to the crisis, prioritising the needs of the affected communities, and ensuring that necessary resources are allocated to support them. The NEF calls on President Tinubu to prioritise the security and safety of the people in the northern region and to take decisive action to address the root causes of the escalating violence and criminal activities.”

The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest is led by the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign, Hassan Taiwo, the protesters gathered at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park and at Alausa to continue their action.

The number of protesters was however reducing compared to previous days.

The protesters called for the sacking of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over the arrests, assault and harassment of protesters and journalists nationwide by the police, and the death of some protesters.