Northern Youths, under the umbrella of the North-East Stakeholders Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have kicked against the open endorsement of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmed el-Rufa’i, by the Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO) as the ideal candidate for the vice-presidential slot.
The TSO had described el-Rufa’i as the best among the contenders being proposed as running mate to the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The TSO Director-General, Aminu Suleiman, while briefing newsmen in Kaduna on Monday, said that they had decided after a consultative meeting with critical stakeholders of the party in the North-West geo-political zone of the country. He reiterated that, though the APC had many outstanding individuals among its ranks that could serve as Tinubus running mate, the North-West, as the single largest voting bloc in Nigeria, should be allowed to produce the next Vice President.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of the APC North-East Youth Stakeholders Forum, Haruna Sardauna, on Monday night urged Nigerians to reject the imposition of el-Rufai on the country. He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the partys standard-bearer, not to take the focus away from the North-East region for justice and equity sake.
The North-East should be given the slot, considering the sacrifices the region has made for the party in the 2015 and 2019 general elections. North-East APC Youth Stakeholders Forum on behalf of our region wants the party and President Muhammadu Buhari to zone the VP slot to our region unconditionally”, the youths group insisted.
It is our hope that our dear President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party will take these concerns seriously and do the essential for the progress and success of our party and country, Sardauna further stated.
