The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), has expressed dismay with the utterances of Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, for saying a northern presidential candidate will lose the 2023 election if fielded by any political party.
Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of NEF said every northerner had the right to aspire for the presidential position in 2023.
He opined that the utterances of Gov. Akeredolu could only make the country suffer.
He lamented that,
“some sections of this country think that intimidating and threatening the North is what will yield the presidency to them, but they are wrong, it will not.”
He expressed concern that such demands made by the likes of Gov. Akeredolu were not helpful but would raise the temperature of the country, stressing that it would not help any Southern politician to get the support of the north even if the person was a good material.
He explained that all the threats, ultimatums and demands that were coming from politicians from the South would not help matters.
He observed that what was missing in Nigeria presently was an elite consensus of what it takes to get the country to survive between now and 2023 elections.
