Shiddo Slams President Deni for Silencing Critics in Puntland State of Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Shiddo: “President Deni peddles the divisive argument that social groups associated with the administrative capital of Puntland should not be eligible to run for the Puntland presidency.”

Garowe (PP News Desk) — In an interview soon to be posted, Mohamud Shiddo, an influential politician in the Puntland State of Somalia, criticised Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni for not brooking criticism.

“He peddles the divisive argument that social groups associated with the administrative capital of Puntland should not be eligible to run for the Puntland presidency,” Shiddo said.

Shiddo claimed that he had phoned President Deni on the night “he was sending troops to  Puntland Parliament to attack the building ” to dissuade him from attacking rival forces there. He also questioned the legitimacy of the incumbent president.

“Most MPs who selected him were appointed on dubious grounds. The President has used inappropriate language against federal leaders. [In 2023] he described the Prime Minister as a secretary of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. President Deni sought the highest office in Somalia; instead, he drove a wedge between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Puntland State of Somalia,” Shiddo added.

Shiddo denied that his group initially provided financial support for Deni’s 2019 candidacy or that they later sought to recoup any such investment.

© Puntland Post, 2025

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