The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, North West, has cautioned Northern elders to desist from divisive comments as the party makes strong case for APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for the general elections in 2023.
The council’s zonal spokesperson, Muhammad Molash, in a statement in Kaduna told the elders to promote national unity and integration, saying that voters should ignore a recent call by a Northern elder that Northerners should reject presidential candidates from the South.
He also said that Nigerians should collectively reject such call and strive to promote national integration.
According to him, it is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution to discriminate on the grounds of place, origin, sex, religion, state, ethnic or linguistic associations or ties of any Nigerian.
Molash said that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, was a strong believer in the Nigerian project, who supported the presidential ambitions of Northerners like Atiku Abubakar, Nuhu Ribadu and President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Tinubu had equally demonstrated the highest level of patriotism in 2015, by sacrificing his Vice Presidential ambition for the unity of the country.
“The APC presidential ticket of Tinubu/Shettima is merely coincidental, not out of any desire to suppress particular set of people.
“The North West APC Presidential campaign council is therefore calling on Northerners to disregard the antics of these elders, who hide behind a bogus Northern agenda to promote their individual and self-serving interests,” he added.
According to him, Tinubu’s candidature was made possible by the overwhelming support he got from APC Northern governors, who appreciated and acknowledged his democratic credentials.
Molash, therefore, said Nigerians should vote for trusted, competent and reliable leaders, regardless of their state of origin in the 2023 general elections.