Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called on Northerners to shun voting based on ethnicity in the coming 2023 election but to vote on the candidate that has the competence and character.
Newsonline reports NEF said Northerners cannot afford to have eight more years of bad governance which destroys the future of its children and grandchildren.
Chairman of NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, said this yesterday (Monday) in Kaduna while delivering a paper titled, ‘Election Have Consequences’, at a town hall meeting.
The town hall meeting was organized by Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barnawa branch in partnership with Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province, Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC), Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna with the theme ‘Free Fair and Credible Elections: The People’s Right’.
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Prof Ango Abdullahi, represented by the spokesperson of NEF, Hakeem Baba-Ahmad said, “2023 election is going to test whether Nigerians are willing to fight for their country now or they are going to profoundly solve the problems of this country.”
Hakeem Baba-Ahmad warned Northerners that voting for candidates because they are Northerners may not be good for the region and the country.
He warned that to save the future of Northern children and grandchildren and to have a safe North, all Northerners and Nigerians must vote and vote based on competence and character of the candidates.
“Don’t vote for anybody on sentiment. For the sake of our future and for the sake of our grandchildren, let us save this country, we must vote.
“Where there are security issues that are preventing you from voting, the government must secure the people so that they can go and vote and we must vote for the right people.
“It is irresponsible to vote for somebody because he bears your ethnic identity, vote for competency and capacity.”
NEF added “There is need for Nigerians to believe in INEC process. Northern Elders Forum believes that INEC needs to improve on its publicity but we have faith in this election. They have done well but they need the support of the government, politicians and the electorate because they cannot conduct a free election without their support.”
