Baba dismissed the claims that the 10th anniversary of the forum was to adopt Atiku as consensus candidate for the north.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has denied adopting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its consensus candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
At a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, the forum led by Seidu Baba claimed that Atiku has been scheming to be endorsed as the sole candidate of the north.
Baba dismissed the claims that the NEF’s 10th anniversary celebration was to adopt Atiku as consensus candidate for the north. “Atiku has no credentials to be a sole Northern Presidential candidate,” he said.
He added that “there was an attempt to cajole and even force the NEF to adopt him (Atiku). It shows how desperate he is.
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“Many people believe, though the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, was condemning northern elders, it is believed his real target was Atiku Abubakar.
“There is no way Atiku can be a northern candidate, because he does not know them and we do not know him.”
Baba noted that Atiku did not show up at the forum’s assembly probably because he got wind of his rejection.
“Atiku has not been seen as somebody who is close to the north, because he has not been fair to us. He is somebody that has his base outside the north,” he said.
