2023: North Won’t Repeat 2015 Mistake Again — NEF Says

The Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), has declared that Northerners would not repeat the same mistake of voting for just any candidate as was the case with President Muhammadu Buhari that was laced with sentiments in 2015.

This was as the NEF described President Buhari as a disappointment to not only the North but the entire country as a whole.

It particularly scored the Buhari’s regime low in all aspects ranging from the worsening insecurity, corruption and the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that they are all but a big disappointment.

The NEF which stated this through its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed said the region will only vote for a competent president regardless of where he comes from in the 2023 presidential election.

Baba-Ahmed told journalists shortly after the meeting of Northern leaders of thought and groups held at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Saturday a Northerner and his Southern counterpart have equal rights to vie for the Presidency in the 2023 General Elections.

The NEF particularly said that the North would vote for a competent president in 2023 irrespective of where he comes from, adding that the Northern region is more interested in going for a competent candidate for the presidency.

Baba-Ahmed further said; “No Northern presidential candidate should take the region for granted in the 2023 race. That was how the region ended up with the Buhari mistake.

“The North was deceived into voting in Buhari believing that the country would be better off and the reverse is the case today as the North and the entire country is worst off than when Buhari took over in 2015.

“A Northerner and a Southerner have equal rights to contest but Northerners should be very careful of who they vote for in 2023.

“No northerner should take us for granted. That was how we ended up with President Buhari. We don’t want to repeat the same mistake.

“If you must be a Northerner who is better than all the candidates, for us, that is the bottom line. It is not enough to be a Northerner, you have to be the best. You have to be the best for the North and you have to be the best for the rest of Nigeria.

“We are looking for a Nigerian President. If it comes from the North, fine but he must be voted for by Nigerians and he must be good and he must be better than all the others. That is what we are looking for,” Baba-Ahmed enthused.