2019 Presidency: Northern leaders dump Buhari, react to Aisha’s claim of ‘two people’ controlling FG
The Northern
Elders Forum, NEF, have stated their position on its preferred presidential
candidate ahead of the forthcoming 2019 election.
The Convener
of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi, in a statement
signed by himself and issued on Saturday in Kaduna, said the northern leaders
have dumped their support for Buhari.
According to
Abdullahi, the Northern Elders arrived at the decision to dump Buhari for
another northern presidential candidate because of his failure to fulfil the
basic conditions they handed to him in 2015 when they rejected the then
President, Goodluck Jonathan and elected him.
The NEF
leader also accused the President of bringing strange elements into government,
thereby adding no value to governance and “we are vindicated on this score
because his wife, Aisha, has confirmed that this week”.
Wife of
President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha had on Tuesday said two powerful people are
frustrating her husband’s effort in running the affairs of the country.
Aisha,
however, failed to mention the names of the powerful persons.
The
statement by the Northern elders reads: “Two of the conditions we gave Buhari
upon his assumption of office were that he should take concrete steps to
address the abject poverty and underdevelopment in the North and he has
woefully failed to marginally address any of them.
“Assuming
that things are working in the North or in Nigeria as a whole, we would have
taken a different position but everyone can see that things are not working
under this government. Perhaps, as a prelude to where this government has taken
this country, Buhari wasted six months before being able to set up his cabinet.
“And when he
eventually formed the cabinet, he brought in persons who had not added any
value to governance and his wife has vindicated us on this.
“As things
stand today, we in the NEF do not believe that Nigeria’s cause will be helped
by Buhari’s re-election in 2019. That is why we have decided to pick one of the
other presidential candidates from the North for next year’s contest.
“It would be
futile for anyone to blame anybody for the decision of the NEF against Buhari
because his own wife has openly alluded to our position that some persons, who
do not have the interest of Nigeria at heart, are running the Buhari
administration without adding real value to the governance of Nigeria”.
Abdullahi,
who served as former President Obasanjo’s Special Adviser on Food Security,
pointed out that Buhari was the architect of his own misfortune, having
repeatedly rebuffed all entreaties by northern leaders to meet with him and
address the issues raised against him.
“Apart from
his poor performance to the dissatisfaction of those who made him President,
Buhari has deliberately rebuffed all attempts by the Northern Elders Forum to
meet with him and discuss issues pertaining to the region and Nigeria.
“This is the
reason we meticulous screened over 13 persons from the Nnorth and finally
picked four out of the large number and our choice has also been endorsed by
leaders of Southern Nigeria including Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere and Middle
Belt leaders.
“We believe
that there is no need for us to be talking to Buhari again about what he needs
since that will not change anything. We have moved and our votes will not be
based on sentiment of tribe or religion but strictly on performance.”
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