Northern leaders under the aegis of Arewa joint committee have refuted reports suggesting that it was planning to endorse one of the presidential candidates for the 2023 general election.
According to the said report, the northern leaders have perfected plans to endorse one of the presidential candidates who participated in the interactive session at Arewa House in Kaduna.
The Arewa joint committee is made up of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF), Jamiyyar Matan Arewa (JMA), Arewa House (Center for Historical Development and Research) and Arewa Research Development Project (ARDP).
But addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, chairman of the steering committee, Mallam Murtala Aliyu, said the interaction was not aimed at endorsing any candidate but to provide an opportunity for them to showcase their political blueprint and their plans for the northern region when elected president.
He said six of the presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of the NNPP, Kola Abiola of the PRP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Prince Adebayo Adewale of the SDP were invited, adding that all except presidential candidate of the NNPP honoured the invitation.
The chairman stressed that the interactive session was planned with the goal to showcase the candidates in the open so that the North and Nigerians can decide who has the best blueprint for the nation and make the best choice of who to vote for in 2023.
He stated: “These interactions in themselves were not planned with the goal of endorsing a candidate. They are part of a longer process that plans to generate commitments to address the challenges of the North by candidates, and which covers a substantial part of the campaigning period.
“We plan to extract and publish these commitments so that Nigerians may measure and evaluate candidates against them. Our goal is to afford citizens an opportunity to match candidates against their commitments to matters that are central to the interests of the North.
“Until the elections in February, 2023 the North will be challenged to raise its vigilance over all electoral activities. It is vital that we prioritise evidence of competence, integrity, quality of preparation and commitment to address the challenges of the North among candidates.
“We will continue to invite attention of the government to the security of the electoral process, and in particular the vulnerability of many parts of the North to organised crime which may pose a serious threat to their right to participate in electing the next sect of leaders in 2023.
“The need to show restraint and discipline as politicians canvass for our elections has never been more pressing. The entire Nation must be open to all contestants and free from violence.
“The exploitation of ethnic and religious fault lines is extremely dangerous, and the nation is already showing signs of stress owing to this exploitation,” he stressed.
I Will Further Project APC’s Progressive Ideals – Tinubu
Meanwhile, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has assured that he will work to further the progressive objectives of the governing party.
Tinubu spoke yesterday at the 3rd ministerial performance review retreat at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The APC presidential candidate said he is aiming to further strengthen national unity and a sense of national purpose.
He said these objectives have charactised the works of the Buhari administration.
Tinubu said, “Mr. President and other members of the administration, may I state the following: if elected, I will give due honour to your efforts and your legacy. I will work in the spirit of cordial unity, a national purpose that informed the creation of our party and characterized the work of your government.
“Most importantly, that the way and means of a Tinubu government will be devoted to further projects and prosper the Nigerian people because our guiding principle will be to provide the best of progressive governance and reform our beloved land.
“Consider these three promises to be a positive outgrowth of your nine-point agenda. On behalf of all well-meaning Nigerians, I wish you a successful retreat and pray to Almighty God that your efforts will continue to bear fruits for our nation and its future”.
Tinubu who pointed out that President Buhari’s administration had done much to keep faith with Nigerians, as well as giving life to the party’s promises to Nigerians and their objectives, however noted that various unpleasant circumstances, both local and international, militated against its efforts.
He continued: “This administration inherited a national condition steep in difficulty unlike any other. Predecessor governments ignored or lacked the will to tackle serious problems ranging from insecurity to corruption. As if that was not enough, you confronted a series of events unprecedented, compounded by the severity, complexity and novelty of COVID (which) attacked both global health and the global economy.
“Throughout most of your tenure, oil prices waned and edged and consequently, so did our revenue. The Ukrainian crisis and other conflicts, coupled with severe weather events in many nations, further depleted economic production and undermined international supply chains of critical items, especially food. You did more than persevere and withstand these adverse storms, despite it all, you made historic progress”.
He listed some of the achievements of the Buhari administration, saying “during this retreat, you have been assessing and will still assess the status of your nine-point agenda.
“You will discuss things in great detail. Yet, permit me to highlight a few points to prompt the memory of those who somehow tend to forget the recent past.
“Upon entering office, you faced a situation where deadly terrorists were planting flags on our national territory, proclaiming an illegal state within our legitimate state. Because of your collective work, they no longer plant those flags, they dare not. Their boast of conquest is no longer heard. You have put us on the road to defeating this menace. By the grace of Almighty God, we shall persist until terrorists and those like them are utterly removed from the face of our nation.
“The progress you made increasing farm productivity while improving the condition of the average farmer, were important policy interventions, helping the nation overcome the global supply chain disruptions that threaten our food security.
“Despite financial headwinds, you embarked on an unparalleled expansion of the national infrastructure. Work in the power sector may be slow, but it will show some dividends amidst increased investors’ confidence in this area,” Tinubu further said.
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