By Akinwale Kasali
The leadership of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, led by Yerima Shettima has distanced itself from the endorsement of the Presidential aspiration of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
Shettima dismissed claims by Governor Ganduje that the North is backing the 2023 Presidential ambition of the former Lagos State Governor, stressing that the Kano State Governor was not speaking for the entire North, rather, he was speaking for himself.
The AYCF leader said that the Governor can’t speak for the entire region, accusing him of pushing for his selfish interests.
According to Shettima: “Ganduje is entitled to his opinion, and probably he is just waking up from his dream. This is an expensive joke, and he knows it’s not true.
“Most of these guys believe that they can wake up and continue doing the same old things as regards politics; they believe that it’s what it was in the past.
“We know what happened and how he survived being a governor of Kano apart from the advantage of the incumbency from the ruling party that came together to work and ensure that they find a soft landing for him to get to where he is.
“So for this, he cannot be said to be speaking for the North. Lagos is different from the North. I wouldn’t blame him because most of them know that they are going into compulsory retirement in politics, so they can go to any length to say something that would ensure they remain to remain politically relevant.
“But you and I know that what he said is not true. We know how he managed the situation during Asiwaju’s birthday in Kano; we know what happened at the State House.
“Anybody can say anything today, but we all know it’s all about their personal interest, it’s not about talking the election is around the corner. Let them prove to Nigerians how popular they are among their constituencies.”
He added that it was not wrong for Governor Ganduje to endorse and pledge support for Tinubu, but it is morally wrong and an insult to the region for an individual to be speaking on its behalf when it wasn’t unanimously agreed or decided to back his candidature.
