A group, Concerned Northern Youths Forum (CNYF), has
condemned the reported endorsement of the All Progressive Congress (APC)
presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) by Northern
Elders Forum (NEF).
CNYF National Chairman, AlKasim Charanchi, while addressing press
conference in Bauchi at the weekend, said the group throw its weight
behind the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan, ThisDay reports.
He described NEF’s decision as untenable and a mere fiction of their imagination, which does not represent the general feelings and opinions of the majority of northerners, and assured President Jonathan and his running mate Vice President Namadi Sambo of considerable votes from the northerners.
Charanchi also hinted that his forum has mobilised its members across the 19 northern states to vote for the PDP at all levels.
“We totally condemn the recent support of the NEF for the presidential candidature of Buhari of the APC in the forthcoming election. We view the so-called support as not only partisan but against the collective interest of the whole North,” he said.
The CNYF national chairman further explained that the group decision to condemn the NEF’s stand is because the elders’ position was not in agreement with the collective resolve of the north and advised them to be neural as elders and not bias in taking decision concerning the future of the North.
“As elders, we expect that the NEF would look far ahead and plan accordingly. The North already has a vice-president in the person of Alhaji Namadi Sambo and allowing President Jonathan to have a second slot at the presidency means giving the North an automatic ticket for the presidency in 2019,” he said.
Charanchi, who said the achievements of President Jonathan-led administration in the North is exceptional, said it was enough for the NEF to canvass support for his re-election instead of ganging up with back warding group to work against him.
He also alleged that the elders are championing a clandestine motive that was not known to the youth, and pointed out that though they were not holding brief for President Jonathan, the ‘pull-him-down’ attitude adopted by the elders was bad for the country’s unity and cohesiveness as an entity.
The group said in accordance with the PDP zoning arrangement, the presidency would be relinquished to the Northern region in 2019, adding that any plan to scuttle it cannot be considered to be in the interest of the region.
“As a body of elders which seeks the collective interest of the North, we should have thought that the NEF would be neutral and not single out a candidate for its support because our votes alone cannot ensure the emergence of a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We need the support of other parts of the country to produce a president, we need a national president, not a regional leader,” he said.
The national chairman also berated the elders for going about different states begging governors for money to fund Buhari’s campaign as well as their involvement with some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in a bid to secure Buhari’s victory come February 14.
“This it has done by purchasing computers to ensure that as many voters as possible were captured in the recent Continuous Voter Registration in the APC strongholds with the view to giving Buhari candidacy an undue advantage, in their now-or-never attitude of installing President of Nigeria come February 14,” Charanchi said.
Charanchi also condemned the elders for making the Boko Haram insurgency their major campaign topic against President Jonathan. He said Mr. President has done the needful in curbing the Boko Haram menace by sending more troops to the troubled northeastern states, and urged northerner to join Jonathan in putting an end to insurgency.
Recall that last year, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said it remains firm in its commitment to produce a northern President come 2015, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan has performed unsatisfactorily and must give way for a president from the northern region, irrespective of political party affiliation.
The Concerned Northern Youths Forum, which has always shown its dissatisfaction for Buhari’s candidacy had earlier told him to forget contesting the 2015 presidential election.
General Muhammadu Buhari
He described NEF’s decision as untenable and a mere fiction of their imagination, which does not represent the general feelings and opinions of the majority of northerners, and assured President Jonathan and his running mate Vice President Namadi Sambo of considerable votes from the northerners.
Charanchi also hinted that his forum has mobilised its members across the 19 northern states to vote for the PDP at all levels.
“We totally condemn the recent support of the NEF for the presidential candidature of Buhari of the APC in the forthcoming election. We view the so-called support as not only partisan but against the collective interest of the whole North,” he said.
The CNYF national chairman further explained that the group decision to condemn the NEF’s stand is because the elders’ position was not in agreement with the collective resolve of the north and advised them to be neural as elders and not bias in taking decision concerning the future of the North.
“As elders, we expect that the NEF would look far ahead and plan accordingly. The North already has a vice-president in the person of Alhaji Namadi Sambo and allowing President Jonathan to have a second slot at the presidency means giving the North an automatic ticket for the presidency in 2019,” he said.
Charanchi, who said the achievements of President Jonathan-led administration in the North is exceptional, said it was enough for the NEF to canvass support for his re-election instead of ganging up with back warding group to work against him.
He also alleged that the elders are championing a clandestine motive that was not known to the youth, and pointed out that though they were not holding brief for President Jonathan, the ‘pull-him-down’ attitude adopted by the elders was bad for the country’s unity and cohesiveness as an entity.
The group said in accordance with the PDP zoning arrangement, the presidency would be relinquished to the Northern region in 2019, adding that any plan to scuttle it cannot be considered to be in the interest of the region.
“As a body of elders which seeks the collective interest of the North, we should have thought that the NEF would be neutral and not single out a candidate for its support because our votes alone cannot ensure the emergence of a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We need the support of other parts of the country to produce a president, we need a national president, not a regional leader,” he said.
The national chairman also berated the elders for going about different states begging governors for money to fund Buhari’s campaign as well as their involvement with some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in a bid to secure Buhari’s victory come February 14.
“This it has done by purchasing computers to ensure that as many voters as possible were captured in the recent Continuous Voter Registration in the APC strongholds with the view to giving Buhari candidacy an undue advantage, in their now-or-never attitude of installing President of Nigeria come February 14,” Charanchi said.
Charanchi also condemned the elders for making the Boko Haram insurgency their major campaign topic against President Jonathan. He said Mr. President has done the needful in curbing the Boko Haram menace by sending more troops to the troubled northeastern states, and urged northerner to join Jonathan in putting an end to insurgency.
Recall that last year, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said it remains firm in its commitment to produce a northern President come 2015, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan has performed unsatisfactorily and must give way for a president from the northern region, irrespective of political party affiliation.
The Concerned Northern Youths Forum, which has always shown its dissatisfaction for Buhari’s candidacy had earlier told him to forget contesting the 2015 presidential election.
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