Atiku’s ‘Northern President’ playbook insensitive, shows his unfitness, they say
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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Atiku: “The Northerner … doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a Pan-Nigerian of Northern origin”
Ohanaeze: “[Atiku’s] ambition has already destroyed the PDP and pushed it from number one to third if not fourth force.
“Now, he wants to bring the same division into the affairs of the country. We ask Nigerians to say no by rejecting him stoutly at the polls”
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Comment full of arrogance and hypocrisy made by Atiku Abubakar when he played his Islamic and ethnic card at an Arewa townhall has nailed the coffin of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as its candidate can no longer fly, says Ohanaeze.
“I have traversed the whole of this country, I think what an average Northerner needs is somebody who is from the North, and who also understands the various parts of Nigeria and who has been able to build bridges across the various parts of the country.
“This is what the Northerner needs, [he] doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a Pan-Nigerian of Northern origin,” Atiku pitched.
He hoisted the Islamic and ethnic flag before Northern leaders at an Arewa townhall last Saturday in Kaduna, where he was the first among presidential candidates billed to take turns to address the group.
The audience comprised, among others, officials of
- Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)
- Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF)
- Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation
- Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa
- Arewa Research and Development Project
Ohanaeze Secretary General Okechukwu Isiguzoro insisted Atiku’s comment has finished off the PDP.
“We are worried that at such a time Nigeria is seeking for a unifier, Atiku is further pushing the country into disintegration; he has shown that he lacks the capacity to lead and unite this country,” he said, according to reporting by The Guardian.
“His ambition has already destroyed the PDP and pushed it from number one to third if not fourth force. Now, he wants to bring the same division into the affairs of the country. We ask Nigerians to say no by rejecting him stoutly at the polls.”
Isiguzoro said the PDP G5 led by Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike have been proved to be the true lovers of Nigeria.
“Nobody can trust a man who said he is a stepping stone for the actualisation of the Southeast presidency in the future, but within 48 hours, he offered the same presidency to Wike.”
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APC says Atiku speaks volumes of his unfitness for office
APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said Atiku has spoken volumes about him not being fit for Aso Rock because his comment attacks national unity.
“If, as Atiku believes, the average Northerner needs a Northern President now, after the eight-year tenure of a Northern President, when will they ever not need a Northern President?” Morka wondered, per The Guardian.
“What does Atiku think the average Southerner needs?
“Why is it about what the average Northerner needs, or even what the average Southerner may need? Why is it not about what Nigeria and Nigerians need?
“Nigerians need bold and visionary leadership anchored on a firm commitment to transcendental national unity, over and above ethnic or sectional obsessions.
“And that is the commitment that our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, brings in his aspiration to serve as president.”