The Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has drawn criticism for asking Northerners to vote for him in the 2023 election simply because he is from the region.
The PDP flag bearer, a Fulani from Adamawa State, declared that “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.
Atiku, who stated this during an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee in Kaduna on Saturday, told his audience not to support a Yoruba or Igbo candidate in reference to the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi.
“What the typical Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the North and also knows that area of the country and has been able to develop bridges throughout the country,”. The Northerner needs something like this”. The PDP flag bearer said
“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,’’
There are suggestions that the former Vice-President, through his statement on Saturday, might have breached Section 97 of the Electoral Act.
The section states, “A candidate, person or association that engages in campaigning or broadcasting based on religious, tribal or sectional reason to promote or oppose a particular political party or the election of a particular candidate, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to (a) a maximum fine of N1m or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both and (b) in the case of a political party, to a maximum of N10m.’’
Despite presenting himself as a pan-Nigerian candidate, Atiku was challenged on Sunday for prior activities that raised questions about his position on significant national issues.
In May, Atiku caused a commotion when he took down a tweet and Facebook post that condemned the murder of Deborah Samuel, a student at Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was allegedly killed for making anti-Muslim remarks.
Atiku quickly removed the tweet, alleging it was done without his permission, after receiving a deluge of threats from northerners asking him to abandon his presidential aspirations for criticizing Samuel’s death.
Reacting, the ruling APC said Atiku’s statement inciting northern electorates to shun Igbo and Yoruba candidates was unbecoming of an elder statesman.
In a statement on Sunday, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, characterized Atiku’s remarks as an assault on the nation’s long-preserved national unity.
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