MOGADISHU, December 21, 2025 (Somalia Tribune) – The Puntland State Minister for the Presidency, Abdifatah Mohamed Abdinur, has urged Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to positively engage with the outcomes of the Somali Future Council conference, which concluded in Kismayo on Saturday.
Speaking at the closing session of the conference, Minister Abdinur criticized the president’s stance toward the Kismayo gathering, calling on him to prioritize national unity over personal or political interests. He warned that dismissing the conference risks deepening divisions within the country.
“It is unfortunate that the president fails to see the positive intentions behind the Kismayo conference and instead appears to be dividing the Somali people,” Abdinur said. “He behaves as though Kismayo is foreign territory and as if those gathered here lack understanding, while he alone knows what is right. This is not what was expected of a national leader.”
The minister added that President Hassan Sheikh should have welcomed the conference and viewed it as an opportunity for constructive dialogue rather than a threat to his administration.
“There is life after office,” Abdinur cautioned. “Power cannot be held forever from a chair, and leaders must remain accountable to the people.”
His remarks came as members of the Somali Future Council called on the president to convene all national political stakeholders within one month, setting January 20, 2026, as a deadline to reach consensus on timely elections.
In a communiqué issued after meetings held in Kismayo from December 18 to 20, 2025, the opposition alliance warned that failure to respond to the call could lead them to organize an alternative electoral process to prevent a constitutional vacuum, security instability, and increased terrorist threats.
The conference brought together senior political figures, including Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe), former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Ministers Mohamed Hussein Rooble, Hassan Ali Khayre, and Abdi Farah Shirdoon (Saacid), as well as former minister Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame.
Organizers said more than 1,500 participants attended the conference, including around 80 journalists. Discussions focused on Somalia’s electoral process, governance, security, economic challenges, and humanitarian concerns, with opposition leaders accusing President Hassan Sheikh’s administration of policies that have deepened political divisions and public alienation.
