Our Interactions With Presidential Candidates Not Meant To Endorse Any Of Them – Arewa Committee

By Ayodele Oni

Arewa Joint Committee has shed light on why it organized forum to interact with some presidential candidates of political parties for next year’s election.

The northern group explained that the interactive forum was not meant to endorse any of the candidate by the region.

Chairman, steering committee of the Arewa group, Mallam Murtala Aliyu in a communique signed and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, explained that the interaction was not aimed at endorsing any presidential candidate.

The six presidential candidates of the various political parties, except New Nigerian Peoples Party, (NNPP) Rabiu Kwankaso were at Arewa House, Kaduna on Saturday and Monday for an interactive session with the joint committee.

The joint committee comprised of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Arewa House, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Research and Development Project and Jamiyyar Matan Arewa.

According to the committee, the interaction was planned with the goal to showcase the potential of candidates in the open so that the North and Nigerians can decide who has the best blueprint for the nation and make the best choice of whom to vote for in the 2023 general elections.

It stated that the interactions were not planned with the goal of endorsing a candidate, but part of a longer process that plans to generate commitments to address the challenges of the North by candidates that covers a substantial part of the campaigning period.

“We plan to extract and publish these commitments so that Nigerians may measure and evaluate candidates against them.

“Our goal is to afford citizens an opportunity to match candidates against their commitments to matters that are central to the interests of the North.

“Until the elections in February, 2023, the North would be challenged to raise its vigilance over all electoral activities.

“It is vital that the region prioritized evidence of competence, integrity, quality of preparation and commitment to address the challenges of the North among candidates.”

It noted that it would continue to invite attention of the government to the security of the electoral process, and in particular the vulnerability of many parts of the North to organized crime, which may pose a serious threat to their right to participate in electing the next set of leaders in 2023.