Some northern leaders under the umbrella of Northern Awareness Initiative (NAI), have asked voters in the region to support Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
The leaders argued that the north didn’t benefit from the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in spite of the votes it gave the party.
The group, led by former chairman of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof Usman Yusuf; former boss of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Ladan Salihu, and Mahdi Shehu, further argued that allowing APC to return to power in 2023 will be destructive.
Yusuf who made the declaration at a press conference yesterday in Kano, charged northerners, in particular, and Nigerians in general, not to support the APC presidential candidate in order to save Nigeria from economic crises, insecurity and disunity as well as provide Nigeria with a leadership that has credibility and integrity.
He called on Nigerians, particularly northerners, to vote for Atiku saying that he has the pedigree and ability to manage the Nigerian economy.
Yusuf also condemned the APC led Nigerian government for leading over 130 million Nigerians into poverty in the last eight years, citing the records by Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and neglecting the plight of 20 million out of school children.
He added, “The present administration told us eight years ago that they want to fight corruption, they want to secure this nation and they want to improve the economy, all they have done so far is the opposite.”