
- Northern youths back Osinbajo to succeed Buhari, oppose same-faith candidacy
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s rumoured presidential ambition got a boost on Wednesday as some youths drawn from the 19 northern states and Abuja converged on Kaduna and tipped him as the best man to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2023.
They said the North should concede the 2023 presidency to the South-West geopolitical zone and in particular to the incumbent Vice President for continuity’s sake.
While noting that Osinbajo was fit to take over from Buhari, the group, however, warned against fielding candidates of the same faith for the position of the President and Vice-President in 2023.
According to them, the Osinbajo can be paired with a candidate from the North in the next general elections.
The youth stated these at a joint conference on northern political participation and power shift in the North held at the Arewa House, Kaduna.
The conference with the theme, ‘Northern Agenda: our real solution’, was organised by the Arewa Consensus Assembly in collaboration with Joint Participation for Development Initiative and National Partnership Campaign Project.
The youth also said Osinbanjo had qualities to lead the country to greatness in 2023 and beyond, and warned the North against not conceding power to the Vice-President.
They said failure to do that would incur dire consequences to the North’s interests.
While saying that Osinbajo’s presidency would unite Nigerians, the northern groups noted that his administration would roll out strategies capable of bringing to end banditry and all forms of threats to the sovereignty of the country.
At the end of the one-day conference, the groups in a 29-point communiqué, said, “The true desire of the North is a better Nigeria for all, where there is hope and fulfilment.
“That the North recognises that there is an urgent responsibility to build and foster confidence between the different ethnicities and geopolitical zones of Nigeria, as well as mitigate religious differences and insecurities between the people of Nigeria.
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