A group, the Arewa Mandate Initiative, has said that majority of All Progressives Congress youth groups in the North has endorsed power shift to the South in 2023.
The group explained that its engagement with the northern youths showed that they supported the presidency to move to the South come 2023.
AMI, therefore, admonished northern politicians preparing to contest for president to shelve the idea for now and allow their southern counterpart to have a shot at the coveted position.
This was contained in a statement on Friday, by the group’s FCT Coordinator, Muhammd Mubarak and Secretary, Aminu Muhammed.
The group explained that the consensus was reached after months of serious consultations with the youth groups and major stakeholders in the party, spread across all the three geo-political zones of the North-West, North- Central, and the North-East.
The Arewa Mandate Initiative, which said it has been spearheading the support for power shift to the south, disclosed that it conducted three rounds of surveys among the APC supporters on the power shift, “and found that majority of the APC family fully supported that power should move to the south in line with the gentleman agreement reached by the leaders of the party in 2015.’’
It noted, “In line with this popular demand, the AMI hereby wishes to urge those who might be nursing the presidential ambition from the North to shelve the idea in the interest of our party and national unity.
“While the Arewa Mandate Initiative recognizes the right of all Nigerians to seek any elective office of their choice as this is a constitutionally- guaranteed rights, it would ,however, urge northern politicians to let go of their presidential ambition, as part of their own sacrifice for the unity and stability of Nigeria.
“The AMI, in furtherance of the search for a president from the south that could match the pedigree and patriotic credentials of President Muhammadu Buhari, has beamed its search lights on some individuals that may be the choice acceptable across the board, for the north and south.
“Though certain individuals in the south have been identified as likely choices for the presidency, the Mandate group has decided to keep things under wraps for now to allow for wider consultations. As part of its assignments, the AMI has initiated talks/discussions with high ranking members of the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, and the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, with a view to having a consensus on a presidential material acceptable to the North, as the general elections draw near.’’
