Northern Youth Coalition Don’t Want Buhari or Atiku on Any Ballot Papers in 2019

The Coalition of Northern Groups has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar not to contest the Presidency of the country in 2019 because age is not on their side any more.

The coalition said the country should be led by young Nigerians that can take it to the Promised Land as the aging leaders and their ilk have been responsible for where the country finds itself right now.

The Coalition’s position was contained in a communique it released shortly after the end of a two-day summit which was held at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Monday, 21st May 2019.

While fielding questions from journalists, however, a leader of the coalition and the National President of the AYCF, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, said it was the belief of the coalition, that though it was the right of Buhari and Atiku to contest, it was left for Nigerians to decide their fate.

Yerima said on behalf of the CNG, “We advise him (Buhari) that we still have people within our generation who have integrity who are very competent and also have capacity to lead.

“We are advising him not to contest but if he chooses to go ahead to contest, Nigerians will go ahead to decide. This is our own opinion and advice to somebody whom we feel is a father to us.

Anybody above 70 years should not contest.”

Asked whether the advice had been extended to Atiku , he said, “ it extends to anybody above that age (70).”

The coalition also lamented the attitude of northern political leaders to the contentious issue of restructuring of the country.

It therefore dismissed both the Northern Governors’ Forum Committee on Restructuring and the Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s Committee on Restructuring by the APC-led government, saying that Nigeria neither belonged to the APC nor the PDP.

Over 30 groups including the Nastura Ashir Sharif ‘s Arewa Citizens Action for Change); ShettimaYerima’s Arewa Youth Consultative Forum; Aminu Adam’s Arewa Youth Development Foundation; Alfred Solomon’s Arewa Students Forum; Abdul-Azeez Suleiman-led Northern Emancipation Network and the Northern Youth Vanguard led by Joshua Viashman, form the coalition.