Various interest groups in the North have called on elders, top politicians in the North, and other stakeholders to work together and nip in the bud the spate of killings, abductions of innocent citizens and other challenges bedeviling the North.
Addressing a joint press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Amb.Kabiru Yusuf; President of the Northern Youth Association of Nigeria, Godiya T Adams; and Speaker of the Congress of Arewa Youth for Peace and Equity, Amb. Yahaya Garba said the challenges in the North shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Recall that the Minister of State for Defence and former governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, in a reply on April 13 to a statement credited to the NEF that it regretted supporting President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election, said the forum had become a political burden for the region.
But a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had asked Matawalle, to retract his “offensive remarks” to the Northern Elders Forum and extend an apology to the elders and the Northern populace at large.
In the text of the press conference jointly signed by various groups in the North, said, “We reject the claims of Kabiru Marafa and his hypocritilcal friends at the Northern Elders Forum. We stand fully with the North and President Tinubu.
“Like the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, stated in Sokoto State last week, President Bola Ahmed has indeed saddled some Northern individuals with important positions in his administration as a show of gratitude for the region’s contribution to his electoral victory.
“What the North now owes Mr. President is to ensure that these selected highly elevated Northern individuals continue to work towards the uplifting and development of the region and the country in general.
“Finally, we are here to say that the North, led by a majority of sound forward-thinking leaders like Bello Matawalle, stand by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We see his reforms.”
