National convener of Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) has faulted the emergence of Atiku Abubakar, a Muslim from the Northern part of the country, as the Presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after President Muhammadu Buhari would have finished eight years in office.

The group, in a statement today, May 29, by its President, Dr. Emeka Nwosu and national secretary, Mohammed Mubarak, called on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to give its 2023 presidential ticket to a Christian from Southern Nigeria in order to create a balance.

The group said that for a country as complex as Nigeria, retaining power in one part of the country will not promote unity, even as it promised to mobilise for the APC nationwide and ensure that the PDP is not returned to power for ignoring the complex and diverse nature of Nigeria.

The statement reads: “We wish to respond to the emergence of the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku, a northern Muslim, defeated a plethora of PDP presidential aspirants in a contentious primary election in Abuja to lead the PDP charge for the general elections.

“We wish to draw attention to the fact that the Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) has campaigned vigorously for equity, fairness and inclusion in our body polity. In our several interventions over the years, we have appealed to the major political parties to be mindful of the complex heterogeneous Nigerian society and to work out a political solution that will be fair, inclusive and equitable to all.

“In this case, we believe what is just and fair is for presidential powers to be zoned to the South, specifically to a southern Christian, after the eight-year rule of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim. We consider it to be very inequitable, unfair and potentially dangerous for the Presidency to remain in the North after President Buhari’s tenure.

“We wish to note that the various crises that have plagued the Nigerian society lately stem from the feeling of neglect, marginalization and inequity. These cries of marginalization seem to have some validations and have been amplified under the tenure of President Buhari who apparently has favored the North in key appointments and interventions.

“For instance, all the leaders of the various arms of government are Northern Muslims, starting from President Buhari himself; Ahmad Lawan, Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly, and Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who is the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Key appointments in the military and paramilitary agencies are also skewed in favour of the north.

“This atmosphere has heightened the call for a more equitable distribution of political offices and appointments in a manner that reflects the complexity and diversity of the Nigerian State. We, at the NEG, have been at the vanguard of this campaign because of our love for Nigeria and understanding that it is in the country’s strategic and long term interest to put issues of equity and inclusion at the centre of our politics.

“We therefore totally condemn the decision of the PDP to elect a northern Muslim presidential candidate at this point of our national life. This is a potentially dangerous decision that has serious implications for national unity and security. We strongly believe this decision does not bode well for our country and would lead to further crises and aggravate the growing fissures of the Nigerian society.

“We will therefore mobilize Nigerians of goodwill everywhere against this act of arbitrariness by the PDP. We note that one man’s ambition cannot be greater than the security and stability of our country.

“We call on the ruling Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be deliberate about its search for a Presidential candidate and to work towards a consensus around a southern Christian, for the sake of the peace and long term good of our country. This would demonstrate that the APC has better understanding of the Nigerian society and is a Party built on trust, goodwill, and diversity.

“We assure the APC of total victory if they do this as we will mobilize Christians and Muslims, northerners and southerners, and all men and women of goodwill to back this ticket.

“Finally, we note that Nigeria is on the precipice and we should be careful not to push it down the cliff.”

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, who withdrew from the contest a few days to the main contest today, May 28, attributed his withdrawal to what he called “obscenely monetized” process.

Hayatu-Deen, who had previously served as a member of the Vision 2010 committee and as Chairman of the Economic Committee of the Buhari administration Transition Committee in 2015, said in a recent interview on TVC News Journalists’ Hangout, that it is a miracle that Nigeria is still standing.

According to him, in a statement, Nigeria needs a strong leader that is fully knowledgeable and can maximise the potential of Nigerians, regretting that the political system has proved to be acrimonious, corrupt and self serving.

He said that he joined the contest as a democrat, with an open mind to keenly contest and accept the result of a process that is fair, credible and transparent.

He said that they endeavoured to forge a consensus which he said would have facilitated a seamless emergence of a candidate but that unfortunately, it could not be achieved.

“I have been a keen observer of Nigerian politics for so many decades but have not had the opportunity to actively participate in politics due to my engagements in managing critical public and private institutions, among others.

“I have observed with great concern and sorrow, the recent rapid deterioration of all aspects of our national life, characterized by increasing poverty, religious intolerance, banditry and kidnapping, monumental oil theft, corruption, management of national assets, communal and religious strife and near collapse of public services and public institutions.

“During my recent nationwide trips, I came face to face with angry and hungry youths, children, boys and girls abandoned by their states who ought to provide them with education and vocational training. These had become the recruiting grounds of criminals, religious and political extremists.

“I planned to ensure that the great potential that had become the hallmark of Nigeria’s development paradigm should be actualized during our presidency. We planned to make Nigeria the continental economic powerhouse which would guarantee high quality of life to the vast majority of our citizens.

“I planned to provide peace by ending the insurgency of all types occasioned by the absence of a robust and coherent plan and lack of engagements with those involved and by improving the capacity the capacity of our intelligence services, the armed forces, the police and paramilitary services.

“I planned to put a final stop to the incessant closure of our universities and other public institutions due to strikes. As we speak, another round of stikes is going on and nobody knows when our universities will be opened.
“It is because of the foregoing that I found it morally compelling to introduce myself into the political space in order to provide tangible solutions to these problems. I was driven by compassion and commitment to the cause of salvaging our country which is on the verge of collapse.

“My exposure locally and internationally and contributions to the nation’s economic and political well being, positioned me to take up the challenges facing our dear nation and the courage to participate in this grueling exercise which most of our elites have shunned away from. Regrettably, the political system has proved to be acrimonious, corrupt and self serving.

‘For the past three months, i had the privilege of intensively interacting with Nigerians from all walks of life. This reinforces my resolve that Nigeria must be saved, otherwise our future is doomed.

“I joined the contest as a democrat, with an open mind to keenly contest and accept the result of a process that is fair, credible and transparent. We have endeavoured to forge a consensus which would have facilitated a seamless emergence of a candidate which unfortunately could not be achieved.

“I wish to reiterate that I didn’t join politics to contest for the presidency because of political gains and inordinate ambition but in order to serve our country. It is therefore based on personal principles and with great humility that I have decided after wide consultations to withdraw from this contest which has been obscenely monetized.

“I wish to thank all my supporters, especially those from my state, well wishers, friends, family, the extra ordinary hardworking young men and women of our campaign organisation, the leadership and members for their tremendous support which enabled us to contribute within this short period towards changing the character and direction to the Nigerian political landscape.

“Finally, as a very loyal party member and believer in the democratic process, I will continue to avail myself my teeming supporters at all times to ensure victory for our great party.”