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By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
A coalition of Northern Youths groups within the APC has dissociated from the stance of the Governors on Sunday staged a peaceful protest against the decision of the APC Northern Governors asking all Northern presidential aspirants under the party to stepdown for their southern counterparts.
The protest came few hours after the Northern Governors elected under the APC conceded the 2023 presidency to the Southern part of the country, declaring that the decision does not reflect the opinions of the entire North.
The coalition made up of APC Youths Elements and North-East Youth Forum for APC jointly held a peaceful protest against the decision of the Governors who they described as “selfish, self centered and power mongers”.
The youths carrying placards with different inscriptions demanded that the APC if it wants to remain in power beyond 2023, allow a candidate from the North emerge in other to be able to match the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which according to them has a formidable candidate in Atiku Abubakar.
They further berated the Northern Governors for not doing anything to develop their respective states but plunged the region into untold hardships particularly myriad of issues including banditry, kidnapping, robbery, poverty, unemployment and other social vices.
Addressing Journalists on the issue, Chairman, APC Progressives Youth Elements, Al-Amin Bala Mai’Auduga stressed that the Northern Governors did not do wider consultation before reaching the decision they announced on Saturday saying that it does not represent the entire Northern region.
He said that, “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”.
Al-Amin Mai’Auduga therefore called on the APC to allow a level playing fields for all the aspirants so that whoever emerged in a fair contest would be supported by the entire APC members. Limiting the contest to a particular region is not democratic.
According to him, “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”.
Also speaking during the protest, State Coordinator of North-East Youths Forum APC, Comrade Ibrahim Hashim Abdullahi declared that the Northern youths will not support a presidential candidate of the APC from the Southern part of the country.
According to him, “President Muhammadu Buhari has started a lot of programs 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 programs”.
