- Express support for Ibrahim Bello Dauda
BY EDMOND ODOK – Despite the expiration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s deadline for the nomination of candidates and replacement of withdrawn candidates on Friday, July 15, 2022, the disappointments over the choice of former Borno State Governor, Mallam Kashim Shettima Mustapha as the All Progressives Congress (APC) Vice Presidential candidate to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have refused to abate.
The latest to mass up against the choice are 13 youth groups from the six geo-political zones in the country who have pointedly rejected Shettima, insisting that he is “unacceptable to the over 30 million youths of the country”.
In a letter addressed to the APC National Leader, the youth groups also declared that after wide consultations and interactions across ethnic and religious divides, they had reached an agreement that it would be in their interest to present Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda, popularly called EL-DABI, to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the APC as their preferred presidential running mate.
The agitated youth groups comprise the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ex-Militant Generals in Niger Delta, National Association of University Students, (NAUS), Yoruba General Assembly (YGA), the Coalition of Northern Christian Youth Groups, and National Association of Polytechnic Students, (NAPS).
Others include the National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES), All Farmers Progressive Association (AFPA), the EL-DABI Grassroot Mobilization Movement, the EL-DABI Support Groups, EL-DABI Women Support Network, and numerous Youth and Women Support Groups for EL-DABI in all the 774 Local Government areas of the country, including EL-DABI professionals in politics who have endorsed EL-DABI.
According to the groups, their resolution reached after a stormy session and deliberations noted that; “The youths, as key stakeholders in the polity of the nation, will resist and work against the pairing of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima Mustapha for the 2023 presidential elections” due to obvious political considerations.
The groups said as Nigerians and major stakeholders in the political space, “we owe our nation a duty in ensuring that quality leadership emerges, as the nation moves towards another very important exercise of electing her leaders in 2023.
“It is notable and worthy to say that youth and women constitute the largest percentage of the electorate and are the most affected by the type of leadership produced. Therefore, we are very interested in who leads our nation at different levels of governance”.
Declaring that their stance follows months of wide consultations across all divides, the youths said; “We agreed that it is in the interest of the youths to present to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the APC our choice, Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda also known as EL-DABI.
A statement signed by the Director of Communication for the Youths Coalition, Comrade Salisu Olowonikoko, on Friday said; “Today, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) also joined all the above-mentioned groups in making our position known to Nigerians and indeed the whole world and after several consultations within the Niger delta, we have resolved to adopt Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda EL-DABI, as the representative the youth.
“Dauda is not to us a Christian or a Muslim, a Northerner or Southerner, but a unifier and an example of patriotism personified. We therefore strongly appeal to APC to adopt him as running mate to the candidate of the party.
“You have our full assurance that the IYC will work tirelessly to ensure support for the party if our humble request is granted. This will demonstrate beyond words the youth inclusion drive of the APC and will foster the reunification of the youth and people of our dear country Nigeria.”
The groups further maintained; “It is time we do away with the sentiment and emotions that have driven us apart as a people. We have co-existed peacefully without these sentiments, and we strongly believe that we will be better off without them. Let leadership be about values, integrity, character, ethics, and patriotism, and not about sentiments. Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda – with a proven track record, and amazing personality will bridge the generational gap between the old and the young.”
They described Dr Dauda as “a detribalized Nigerian of very high repute and integrity, a thorough bred professional, a technocrat, and an advocate for digital leadership for sustainable development”, adding that; “Apart from being a Chartered Management Accountant, EL-DABI is a certified Project and Program Manager, a certified Risk and Loan Manager, a certified Forensic Graphologist.”
“He also possesses a Professional Diploma in Intelligence, Certified in Cyber security, Professional Diploma in Criminology and Security Studies with a verifiable certificate from International Security Organisation, (ISO)”, the groups assured
