Northern Elders Forum Speaks On Adopting Atiku As Consensus Candidate

A member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Seidu Baba has distanced the forum from endorsing the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar as a consensus candidate.

Naija News learnt that Baba revealed this on Saturday during a news conference in Abuja.

According to Baba, though the former vice president has been pushing to endorsed as the sole candidate of the North, NEF has not endorsed him.

He further stated that the NEF’s 10th Anniversary was not to adopt Atiku as the consensus candidate for the North.

Baba said, “Atiku has no credentials to be a sole Northern Presidential candidate.

“There was an attempt to cajole and even force the NEF to adopt him (Atiku), shows how desperate he is.

“Many people believe, that although the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-rufai, was condemning Northern elders, it is believed, his real target was Atiku Abubakar.

“There is no way Atiku can be a Northern candidate because he does not know them and we do not know him.

“It is believed Atiku got wind of his rejection the reason he failed to show up at the NEF Assembly and could not send any representative.

“Atiku has not been seen as somebody who is closed to the North, because he has not been fair to us.

“He is somebody that have his base outside the North.”