…Northern groups, leaders disown Atiku
A former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka says Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won’t apologise over his Yoruba and Igbo president comment.
The former vice president had in a recent gathering advised northerners to vote for someone from the region in next year’s general election.
“What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the North and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country,” the PDP presidential candidate said.
“This is what the Northerner needs. It doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”
The comment had generated heated debates and condemnations from several quarters but Chidoka maintained that Atiku does not need to apologize for the remark.
“I think we need to move beyond these political gimmicks and political gimmickry that goes on when people say one thing, we turn it the other way round and we use it for political ends. The point he is making is a very clear point – that we need a Nigerian president, somebody that would unify the country, will understand the issues, and be able to solve them,” Chidoka said while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today which aired on Tuesday.
“So, I don’t think that it is a statement that warrants any apologies or discussions. It is for Vice President Atiku to continue to explain himself to the public. We still have four months in the campaign so he needs to go out and explain his agenda that he is a Nigerian president that is desirous of making sure that all parts of Nigeria feel wanted in Nigeria, and feel united. He needs to unify the country to be able to propose the difficult solutions that must be applied to make this economy and the country work again.”
The PDP chieftain described the debates generated by Atiku’s comment as “unfortunate”.
Meanwhile, the Arewa Joint Committee has joined the widespread condemnation of a comment made by the presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, during his interface with the committee on Saturday.
The Joint Committee comprising of six Northern groups namely; Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Arewa House, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) and Jamiyyar Matan Arewa hosted presidential candidates recently.
Speaking with journalists, the Chairman Steering Committee, Malam Murtala Aliyu, said the same question administered to Atiku was asked other candidates too, adding that every response expressed by the various candidates of the various political parties is solely their opinion and has nothing to do with the fundamental objectives of the joint committee.
He said, “Atiku should clear himself. The same question asked by the Committee was administered to other presidential candidates too. So we have no business with the opinion expressed by our guests.”
The joint committee further stressed that the interactions were not planned with the goal of endorsing any candidate, adding that the maiden edition only sought to address the challenges of the north by any candidate who emerge victorious in the forth coming general election.
According to the Committee, “These interactions in themselves were not planned with the goal of endorsing a candidate. They are part of a longer process that plans to generate commitments to address the challenges of the North by candidates, and which covers a substantial part of the campaigning period.
“We plan to extract and publish these commitments so that Nigerians may measure and evaluate candidates against them. Our goal is to afford citizens an opportunity to match candidates against their commitments to matters that are central to the interests of the North.
“Until the elections in February, 2023 the North will be challenged to raise its vigilance over all electoral activities. It is vital that we priotize evidence of competence, integrity, quality of preparation and commitment to address the challenges of the North among candidates.
“We will continue to invite attention of the government to the security of the electoral process, and in particular the vulnerability of many parts of the North to organize crime which may posed a serious threat to their right to participate in electing the next sect of leaders in 2023.
“The need to show restraint and discipline as politicians canvass for our elections has never been more pressing . The entire Nation must be open to all contestants and free from violence.
“The exploitation of of ethnic and religious fault lines is extremely dangerous, and the nation is already showing signs of stress owing to this exploitation.”
