By Our Reporter The Arewa Youth Merger Group and the Hausa-Fulani Coalition have distanced themselves from reports that former...
By Our Reporter
The Arewa Youth Merger Group and the Hausa-Fulani Coalition have distanced themselves from reports that former Kano State Governor, Engineerr. Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is being considered as running mate to Peter Obi. on the platform of the NDC. in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Musa Mujahid Zaitawa and made available to journalists in Kano, the group said its position followed a merger it entered into with the APC business groups, farmers, students, and other stakeholders from Northern Nigeria.
The group said the alliance was based on a 2015 agreement between the North and South-West on power rotation an 8-year term for each region.
According to the statement, part of the agreement was that the North would produce a Muslim Vice President from among the 19 Northern states. This, it said, informed the choice of Senator . Kashim Shettima from the North-East as Vice President.
The group recalled that in 2015, the North supported the South-West by delivering votes that brought Muhammadu Buhari from the North-West as President for 8 years, with Proffessor. Yemi Osinbajo from the South-West as his deputy.
After Buhari’s tenure, it added, the North again supported Bola Ahmed Tinubu from Southern Nigeria, and was given the Vice Presidency in return with Kashim Shettima from the North-East.
“As part of honoring the agreement, the positions of Secretary to the Government of the Federation and APC National Chairman were also zoned to the North,” the statement read.
The group explained that under the current APC arrangement, all six geopolitical zones are represented: Senate President from South-South, President from South-West, Vice President North-East, Deputy Senate President from North-West, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“This is to ensure that every zone feels carried along,” it said.
The Arewa Youth Merger Group said it cannot forget the role some Igbo elements played after independence when Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, were killed in the 1966 coup.
“We, the youth of Arewa, will not forget that pain. Kwankwaso is trying to bring it back by going behind the North to align with the Igbo, a move that will reduce the North to spectators in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The group described the office of Vice President as said by Kwankwaso in the other time is a like a “spare tyre” and insisted that it is almost the turn of the North to produce the President again after Tinubu completes his second term in 2031, in line with the power rotation agreement.
The group accused Peter Obi of showing hostility toward Northerners during his time as Governor of Anambra State, alleging that he expelled Northerners and ordered them to pay for residence permits. It also alleged that a mosque was demolished under his administration.
“In 2023, Peter Obi campaigned on religious lines, telling Christians to vote for him. He showed that Northerners did not matter to him,” the statement added.
The group said there was no reason for Kwankwaso to now go and bring Obi and ask Northerners to forgive the Igbo for the killings of Northern leaders, without an apology.
“If the Igbo want forgiveness for the 1966 killings of Arewa leaders, they must, through their Ndigbo organizations, formally seek pardon from the people of Arewa,” it stated.
The group reaffirmed its support for the ongoing Muslim-Muslim ticket of Tinubu and Shettima and said it will work for the same arrangement in 2027.
It said if there must be any alliance between the North and the Igbo, the Igbo must first respect the agreement made with the South-West in 2015. “Buhari did 8 years. Now it is the turn of the South to do 8 years until 2031.
After that, if the North decides to support the Igbo, then an Igbo man can run for President with a Northern Muslim as Vice President,” the statement said.
The group warned that it will not allow Kwankwaso to use the North’s political capital for personal ambition and destroy the agreement between the North and South-West.
It added that it will soon organize a peaceful protest to the National Assembly and the Senate to make known the position of Arewa youths and promote national unity.
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