Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The former governor of Benue State described the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a pretender and warned that the transfer may undermine the collective political pursuits of Northern Nigeria.
Akume spoke yesterday in Kaduna with gloves in his arms, at a pre-campaign assembly with Benue State indigenes resident within the state.
He urged northerners to rally behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, insisting that the area ought to wait till 2031 earlier than looking for to return to the presidency.
The SGF argued that particular person presidential ambitions shouldn’t be allowed to disrupt the power-rotation association between the North and South, which he mentioned had helped maintain Nigeria’s unity and territorial integrity.
“Anybody who is from the North and running for the presidency is an enemy of the North. Don’t allow that pretender to deceive you. It is not yet our turn. The North’s turn is in 2031. Prepare to vote for Tinubu. Do not allow anyone to destroy the country because of a vaunting personal ambition,” he mentioned.
Akume maintained that the North stood to realize extra by supporting Tinubu for a second time period than by pursuing competing political ambitions that would divide the area and weaken its collective affect forward of the subsequent common election.
He additionally defended the president’s report on political appointments and spiritual inclusiveness, urging northerners to not be swayed by what he described as deceptive narratives in regards to the administration.
“Let us remember that the president has been fair to all in terms of appointments and others. He doesn’t favour one religion over the other. Just look at the figures. So be careful about what people tell you,” Akume mentioned.
The former Benue State governor additional faulted Atiku’s place on gasoline subsidy, accusing the previous vice-president of inconsistency.
“Forget that other one making noise that he was going to remove fuel subsidies. He is always flip-flopping. He says something today and changes gear the next minute,” he mentioned.
Akume argued that the political understanding reached by Nigerian leaders on the rotation of presidential energy ought to stay a tenet in managing the nation’s political variations.
He recalled that the settlement reached in Kaduna was designed to protect nationwide cohesion and guarantee a way of inclusion among the many nation’s various political constituencies.
“Remember that it was in this same Kaduna State that we agreed on power rotation between the North and the South. You cannot doubt the credentials of those that reached this agreement at that time, and it was done to keep this country together. We agreed on a power shift, and that is what has kept this country going,” he mentioned.
Akume additionally cited federal authorities tasks in Benue State, overlaying healthcare, roads and training, as proof of Tinubu’s dedication to the state.
