The National Coordinator, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has flayed, the Northern Elders’ Forum and the Arewa Consultative Forum for their insistence that the north must produce a president in 2015.
According to him, the clamour for a northern president will add no value to the region, just like the IBB, Abdusalami’s military eras did not add any value to the region.
Junaid stated that the electorate should be allowed to elect who will rule them.
He stated that he was not against the two bodies, provided their goal was realized in a credible manner.
His words, “Not everybody who speaks on behalf of the North is actually speaking the heart of the North. When you check the credentials of these people, who are they to speak for the North? How many times have they won any form of election?”
He condemned the military regimes of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, which, he said did not favour the region.
He said, “Of what use was IBB’s tenure as Head of State? What benefit did be bring to the North, I want to know? Tell me what he did for the North. If these are the kind of people the North wants to bring to government, then, they should forget about me. They should excommunicate me and say I’m not a northerner.
“I only want people who are fair, honest and patriotic; who will treat everybody fairly, not because they are northerners. I have seen some honourable Governors and I have seen some very horrible Governors.”
He said, “Neither Obasanjo nor all those clamouring for return of power to the North are speaking for the North. Those who are saying power must go to the North (in 2015) are not democrats.
Anybody who insists that power must go to somewhere by circumventing the principle of free and fair election is not a democrat.”
On the alleged single term deal signed by president Jonathan, Junaid said, “I was neither the president nor a governor; that shows that I was not present at the meeting. Dr. Edwin Clark and some people who were not governors at that point in time were not at the meeting but they were the ones denying the pact.
“The President has not come out to say no, there was no such thing. But, the governors said there is an agreement. Most of those talking were not part of the meeting and no amount of noise making by anybody will settle the issue,” Mohammed said.
Six northern organisations – Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders’ Forum, Arewa Reawakening Forum, Arewa Research and Development Project, Northern Union and the Code Group – had on July 16, 2013, insisted that the North must produce the nation’s President in 2015.
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