Baidoa, Somalia – A Somali lawmaker has accused Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen of preventing a delegation of federal MPs from traveling to Baidoa, sparking questions about tensions between the regional administration and members of the national parliament.
Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu on Tuesday, MP Muktar Mohamed Guled said the group — led by former Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman — was scheduled to visit Baidoa earlier this week but was stopped from proceeding after Laftagareen allegedly intervened. Guled noted that the visit was intended to engage local leaders and constituents on political and development matters.
He added that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had personally urged the delegation to postpone the trip, assuring them that a new date would be arranged. However, Guled expressed concern that no timeline was provided, suggesting that the delay might be politically motivated.
“The President advised us to wait, promising to facilitate the visit later, but no specific date has been communicated,” Guled said, emphasizing that lawmakers have a constitutional mandate to visit their regions and engage with citizens freely.
The incident has drawn attention to the uneasy relations between the federal government and regional states, particularly in Southwest, where political rivalries have deepened ahead of anticipated electoral and governance reforms.
While neither Villa Somalia nor the Southwest administration has issued an official statement, the development highlights the persistent frictions that continue to shape Somalia’s federal politics — a dynamic that many fear could undermine efforts toward national reconciliation and state-building.