#2019: Buhari splits Northern Elders, Arewa Youths

Apparently not happy with the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari as the sole candidate for the presidency in 2019, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has cautioned that the leaders of the region should be unbiased and treat every northerner equally.

This was as the group described the endorsement which was made by the chairman of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Chief Paul Unongo, as the elder statesman’s own opinion, saying he was not speaking for the North.

In a statement AYCF national president, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, released in response to the development, he said that Unongo lacked the requisite authority to speak for the North.

He said, “As far as we are concerned, Paul Unongo was speaking for himself as usual and never for the Northern Elders Forum, much less for the whole North.

“It is quite unthinkable that a person with such little grasp of diplomacy should think himself as a worthy successor to the respectable chairmanship of the NEF vacated by the late Danmasanin Kano.

READ ALSO: Not Fulani herdsmen but govt failures responsible for killings in Nigeria

“We all know that Danmasani was the convener of the NEF and a noble leader that never steered the group in the path of partisanship. The leadership of the NEF in the time of the Danmasani has never been so biased and considered every northerner as its own and treated them equally.”

While Yerima said that the presidency will remain in the region till 2023, he however insisted that Unongo must have endorsed Buhari as the sole candidate for the region “out of tune.”

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now