Atiku told his audience that they don’t need an Igbo or Yoruba as president but “someone from the north”.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has come under criticism on social media for saying that northerners need a president who hails from the north.
The former Vice President spoke on Saturday at the interactive session of the Arewa townhall policy dialogue in Kaduna.
Atiku, who hails from Adamawa in the north-east, told his audience which included a significant percentage of persons of Hausa and Fulani extraction, that they don’t need an Igbo or Yoruba as president but “someone from the north”.
He said he has been to Nigeria’s 36 states and understands their peculiarities and diversities.
Atiku said the northerners should trust him with their votes, adding that he’s the most qualified to be president.
“I have traversed the whole of this country,” he said.
“I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north, and who also understands the other parts of Nigeria and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country.
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“This is what the northerner needs. He (northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate, or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”
Nigerians on Twitter have reacted with criticism, saying Atiku’s statement was reckless.
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