He expressed surprise that his name was mentioned regarding a list of 151 Northern elders said to have been drawn up by Jonathan 2015 campaigners to be consulted to support the aspiration.
Abdulkadir, who is a former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano said he first heard about the said list in the newspaper story and was scandalized by it. “I was not consulted before my name was included in any such list. No one obtained my permission before he added my name to it, and no one has spoken to me since then about supporting President Jonathan’s or anyone else’s aspiration. It is an insult to those of us who have been in public service for so long to suggest that our conscience could be bought for $50,000 or any other amount of money.”
Dandatti, who was a close associate of the late NEPU/PRP leader Malam Aminu Kano, said his previous involvement with politics and politicians was purely ideological and principled and could not have been motivated by monetary gains. It is too late in life to depart from that time-honoured path, he said.
Weekly Trust reported last week the discovery of a list containing 151 names of prominent Northern elders and activists who are to be lobbied to support the president’s bid to another term in 2015. Several of the persons mentioned in the list denied that anyone consulted them when Weekly Trust spoke to them. Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Niger State Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu was the first to publicly raise an alarm over the list. Speaking during the 25th anniversary of the Emir of Minna Alhaji Umaru Bahago, Aliyu said the names of 400 prominent northerners have been shortlisted by the presidency to support Jonathan’s candidacy in 2015.
Shortly after the disclosure by the Niger State governor, the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, whose named also appeared on the list, confirmed obtaining the document.
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