Buhari, Atiku shouldn’t contest presidency in 2019 – Northern coalition
The group said such leaders were responsible for where the country found itself, adding that the country should be led by young Nigerians that could take it to the Promised Land.
The CNG’s position was contained in a communiqué it issued shortly after the end of a two-day summit which was held at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Monday.
The coalition gave the Ndigbo a notice to leave the North last year . It however withdrew the notice to quit months later.
Over 30 groups including the Nastura Ashir Sharif
‘s Arewa Citizens Action for Change);
ShettimaYerima’s Arewa Youth
Consultative Forum; Aminu Adam’s Arewa
Youth Development Foundation; Alfred
Solomon’s Arewa Students Forum; Abdul-Azeez Suleiman-led Northern
Emancipation Network and the
Northern Youth Vanguard led by Joshua
Viashman, form the coalition.
However, while fielding questions from
journalists, a leader of the group and the National President of the AYCF,
Alhaji Shettima Yerima, said it was the belief of the coalition, that though it
was the right of Buhari and Atiku to contest, it was left for Nigerians to
decide their fate.
Yerima said on behalf of the CNG, “We advise him
(Buhari) that we still have people within our generation who have integrity who
are very competent and also have capacity to lead. We are advising him not to
contest but if he chooses to go ahead to contest, Nigerians will go ahead to
decide. This is our own opinion and
advice to somebody whom we feel is a father to us. Anybody above 70 years
should not contest.”
When asked whether the advice had been extended to
Atiku , he said, “ it extends to anybody above that age (70).”
But the Presidency has challenged the Coalition of
Northern Groups to cite the section of the nation’s constitution that
stipulates that those above 70 years cannot contest the presidential seat.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on
Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, gave the challenge in an interview with one
of our correspondents in reaction to the
northern coalition’s call that Buhari and Atiku, who are above 70 years, should
not contest the presidency of the country in 2019.
He said the country was being governed by law,
hence nobody’s constitutional right could be abridged for no just cause.
The presidential spokesman said, “Let them tell us
the section of the constitution that stops those above 70 years from
contesting. As you know, the country is governed by law and the President has
not breached any law by showing interest in the race.
“If they want to contest, they are free to come
out and do so. The President is not stopping anybody from contesting against
him.”
Attempts to get a reaction from former
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar were unsuccessful.
Calls to the mobile telephone number of his Media
Adviser, Paul Ibe, indicated that it was switched off. A response to a text
message sent to him on the subject was being awaited as of the time (8:45 pm)
of filing this report.
A communiqué read on behalf of the CNG by its
spokesman, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the summit basically centered on
restructuring of the country as being clamoured by some Nigerians.
The coalition said it opted for a holistic
“restructuring” of the country.
It lamented the attitude of northern political
leaders to the contentious issue of restructuring of the country.
The CNG also
dismissed both the Northern
Governors’ Forum Committee on Restructuring and the Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s
Committee on Restructuring by the APC-led government, saying that Nigeria
neither belonged to the APC nor the PDP.
Punch
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