The Arewa Joint Committee has distanced itself from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s comment of ‘don’t vote Yoruba, Igbo’.
The committee comprises the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Arewa House, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), and Jamiyyar Matan Arewa.
It said the views expressed by all the candidates that appeared at its interactive session were purely theirs.
The Chairman of the session’s Steering Committee, Murtala Aliyu, told reporters in Kaduna yesterday ”Atiku should clear himself. The same question asked by the committee was administered to other presidential candidates too. So, we have no business with the opinion expressed by our guests.”
Aliyu, who warned that “the exploitation of ethnic and religious fault lines is extremely dangerous,” expressed concern that “the nation is already showing signs of stress owing to this exploitation.”
Atiku while responding to a question by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) Spokesman, Hakeem Baba on why he thinks the North should vote for him in 2023, said: “An average Northerner does not need a Yoruba or Igbo president, but a northern president, who is a pan Nigeria.”
His comment generated reactions from different quarters with many demanding an apology from him.
But on Monday, Atiku’s Media Aide, Paul Ibe, clarified that his principal was jokingly responding to a question that generally centered on the North. Ibe added that Atiku would not play to the gallery to score political points.
