The Community Auxiliary Development for Effective Transformation Network (CADETN) has addressed concerns surrounding the recent guard of honour extended to Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A viral video showed Seyi inspecting the guard at the CityBoy Youth Empowerment Program in Ogun State, sparking public outcry and demands for investigation.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar referred to the event as an “anomaly” and a “serious breach of military tradition,” calling for a probe into the matter. However, CADETN’s Corps Commander, Josh Fatoye, issued a statement on Monday clarifying the situation.
Fatoye explained that the guard of honour was part of CADETN’s standard protocol for welcoming dignitaries and not an exclusive gesture for Seyi Tinubu.
He said: “It is of note that the guard of Honour was used to welcome dignitaries to the event as it is a youth empowerment programme and the organisation is a youth organisation.
“The guard also honoured other dignitaries like the PA to the President on Special Duties as the program played host to many dignitaries like the Minister of Youth Development, Minister of Digital Economy, SSA to the President on Citizenship & Leadership, SSA to the President on Digital Comm & New Media, CoS to Ogun State Governor and so many other dignitaries that graced the occasion This was not exclusive to Seyi Tinubu.”
“The CADETN is a youth uniformed organization and not a military outfit and also not in any way affiliated to the military or Armed Forces as been claimed by some mischief makers. The organization is a voluntary organisation that operates like the likes of Man O War, Peace Corps, Royal Ambassador, Man of Order, WAI Brigade and other relevant uniformed voluntary organisations. “
The Corps Commander also dismissed claims of using military paraphernalia or live ammunition as “false and misleading.”
He said, “We would like to state categorically that no ammunition was used and no military paraphernalia was used during the guard of Honour as peddled by critics. The guard of Honour was mounted using wooden crafted dummy rifles as it is practised among other uniform organizations. Any weapon seen in the video is that of the security details of the dignitaries and not that of the organisation.”
