Midnimo Condemns the Puntland Administration’s Reckless Abandonment of National Unity and the Federal Government’s Weaponization of Aid

SOMALIA IS NOT A BARGAINING CHIP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bismillah.

The Midnimo Organization strongly condemns, the irresponsible conduct of both the Federal Government of Somalia and the Puntland administration. Their escalating political confrontation is damaging public confidence, weakening Somalia’s federal institutions, and placing personal political interests above the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic.

Midnimo has repeatedly criticized the Federal Government for using humanitarian and development assistance provided to Somalia by the international community as an instrument of political and economic pressure. Aid intended for the Somali people must never be manipulated to reward political loyalty, punish disagreement, or weaken a Federal Member State.

International assistance is given to Somalia and its people, not to Villa Somalia as a political weapon. Any attempt to control its distribution for partisan purposes is an abuse of authority, a betrayal of public trust, and a violation of the spirit in which that assistance was provided.

Nevertheless, the Federal Government’s misconduct cannot justify the Puntland administration’s decision to sever relations with the national government or its claim that federal parliamentarians and officials from Puntland no longer represent the people of Puntland.

Puntland’s representatives in the two Houses of the Federal Parliament and its officials serving within federal institutions were entrusted with representing their constituents and communities within the constitutional institutions of the Somali Republic. They are not personal envoys or special representatives of Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni. Their public responsibilities cannot be suspended or cancelled simply because one political administration has entered into a dispute with another.

Midnimo reminds the people of Puntland that, during President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s first term, Said Abdullahi Deni served as a minister in the Federal Government while the administration of Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali was engaged in serious disagreements with Mogadishu. Minister Deni did not resign from his federal position. On the contrary, he defended Federal Government policies that Puntland’s administration strongly opposed at the time.

The political principle must therefore remain consistent: what was considered legitimate for Minister Said Deni when he served in Mogadishu cannot suddenly be declared illegitimate for today’s Puntland representatives merely because he now leads the Puntland administration.

Previous Puntland administrations had major disagreements with successive federal governments, but they did not completely abandon Somalia’s national institutions. They understood that political disputes are temporary, while the Somali nation is permanent.

Somalia is a federal republic. Federalism does not mean that a Federal Member State may threaten political separation whenever it disagrees with Villa Somalia. Nor does it permit the Federal Government to treat the member states as subordinate administrations that can be financially punished into obedience.

Federalism requires consultation, constitutional restraint, shared responsibility, and respect between the two levels of government. It is neither centralized domination from Mogadishu nor a loose confederation in which regional leaders can withdraw from the national system whenever it serves their immediate political interests.

Midnimo is also deeply concerned by the timing and political context of Puntland’s announcement. Coming while the leader of the secessionist administration in Hargeisa, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Irro,” is reportedly visiting Washington, D.C., the announcement inevitably raises serious questions about whether foreign interests are encouraging deeper divisions among Somalis.

These concerns must not be dismissed lightly. Foreign governments seeking influence in Somalia have repeatedly attempted to exploit disagreements between the Federal Government and Federal Member States. They cultivate relationships with individual political leaders, offer financial or diplomatic support, and use internal Somali divisions to advance interests that may be contrary to Somalia’s national unity and sovereignty.

Midnimo sends a clear message to the international community: the Somali people remain united in their commitment to one sovereign and territorially indivisible Somali Republic. Political disagreements between leaders must never be mistaken for public acceptance of fragmentation, secession, or the erosion of Somalia’s sovereignty.

Neither Villa Somalia nor any Federal Member State administration possesses the authority to gamble with the unity of the Somali nation. Political leaders are temporary custodians of public office. They do not own the country, its institutions, its territory, or its people.

Midnimo therefore calls upon:

1. The Federal Government to immediately stop using humanitarian assistance, development resources, and financial transfers as instruments of political pressure against Federal Member States. 

2. The Puntland administration to withdraw and refrain rhetoric and decisions that weaken national institutions, divide the Somali people, or suggest that Puntland can be politically separated from the rest of the Somali Republic.

3. Both sides to resolve their disagreements through constitutional dialogue, negotiation, and respect for Somalia’s federal system. 

4. The international community to ensure that assistance intended for the Somali people is distributed transparently, fairly, and without political interference. 

5. The Somali people to refuse every attempt by federal or regional politicians to divide them for personal power, temporary political advantage, or foreign-sponsored interests.

Somalis must never allow themselves to be mobilized against one another in the name of competing administrations. Presidents, prime ministers, and regional leaders come and go, but the nation and its people remain.

The unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia are not political bargaining chips. They are a sacred national trust that no individual leader, administration, or foreign power has the right to compromise.

Somalia belongs to all Somalis, and its unity is not negotiable.

Issued by:
Midnimo Organization