Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate has revealed why northerners should elect a president from their region.
Speaking on Saturday at the interactive session of the Arewa townhall policy dialogue in Kaduna, Atiku told his audience, which included a sizable proportion of people of Hausa and Fulani descent, that they needed “someone from the north” as president instead of an Igbo or Yoruba.
The former vice president claimed to be familiar with the differences and quirks of all 36 of Nigeria’s states.
Atiku pleaded with voters in the north to back him with their votes, claiming he was the most qualified candidate.
“I have traversed the whole of this country. I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north, and who also understands the other parts of Nigeria and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country,” Atiku said.
He added that “This is what the northerner needs. He (northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs.I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin”.