Power shift: Northern APC governors don’t speak for us, says Arewa youth

A coalition of northern youth groups has condemned the decision of the governors in the region to support rotation of the presidency to the south on 2023.

On Saturday, the northern All Progressives Congress (APC) governors released a statement calling on presidential hopefuls from the region to withdraw from the APC presidential race.

They also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look toward the southern presidential hopefuls when considering his successor.

Reacting to the development on Sunday, the coalition, made up of APC Progressives Youth Elements and North-East Youth Forum for APC, dissociated themselves from the stance of the governors, saying the decision does not reflect the opinions of the entire north.

The youth coalition stated that if the APC wants to remain in power beyond 2023, it must allow a candidate from the north to emerge as its flag bearer.

Speaking to journalists, Al-Amin Bala Mai’Auduga, leader of the coalition, stressed that the northern governors did not embark on wider consultation before reaching the decision they announced on Saturday.

“We are not in support of the decision because it is against our political wish for 2023. The northern governors just sat down and took the decision for the entire people of the north. They are on their own,” he said.

“The north has eminently qualified people who can succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. We therefore want the APC to beam its searchlight to the north and get a presidential candidate.”

Mai’Auduga further called on the APC to provide a level playing field for all the presidential aspirants so that whoever emerges at the primary election would be supported by the entire APC members.

Also speaking on the development, Ibrahim Hashim Abdullahi, state coordinator of North-East Youths Forum in APC, said youths in the region will not support a presidential aspirant from the southern part of the country.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has started a lot of programmes and projects that will make the north better. We need someone who knows the north very well and will be able to complete the projects and programmes,” Abdullahi said.