A chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Muhammad Yakubu, said the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is the endorsed candidate of the north for the February 25 election.
The Punch reported that the ACF chieftain disclosed this on Monday, February 20, during a press conference at the northern group’s secretariat in Kaduna.
Yakubu, the national assistant auditor of the forum, reiterated that the region had settled for Atiku for the 2023 presidential election.
According to the Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain, who is also the Convener of the Atiku/Okowa Patriots, the northern region supports Atiku not because he is a northerner but because he has the capacity and experience to lead the country to the promised land.
He said statements from northern elders such as Alhaji Sani Zango Daura and Prof. Ango Abdullahi have given the region a direction on who to back. “Atiku is the candidate of the north and that is the direction we are going to follow,” Yakubu said.
The group had urged Northern voters to look out for a presidential candidate with clear and objective party manifestos and the character and track records of the candidates. However, Yakubu said the ACF did not meet to take “that kind of decision”.
He said the ACF supports his position that Atiku is the candidate of the north.
“The north is supporting Atiku not because Atiku is from the north. No, it’s because at this point in time, among the candidates we have now, it’s Atiku that has the capacity, the competence and the integrity and the reach out across the country,” Yakubu added.
