Politics
2023: Afenifere Flays Atiku Over Anti-Yoruba, Igbo Statement
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere has flayed the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over his divisive comment at the weekend.
The spokesman for Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, in an interview with The Punch, lampooned the former vice president for resorting to an ethnicity campaign, saying the group was disappointed in him.
Ajayi asserted that Atiku should be preaching unity and harmony instead of seeking to divide the country with his statement.
Naija News reports that Atiku stirred controversy over the weekend when he said Northerners do not need any Yoruba or Igbo candidate as the next Nigerian President.
Atiku, during an interactive session with Arewa Joint Committee on Saturday in Kaduna State, said Northerners need to vote for him because he is a Pan-Nigerian with a northern extraction that has built bridges across the country.
He had said: “What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the north and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country.
This is what the Northerner needs, it doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a Pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”
Following the development, the former Vice President and PDP presidential flagbearer came under fire for his ethnocentric statement.
However, Atiku has clarified the controversial statement, accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) of twisting his words.
