The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council on Wednesday said the APC flag-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is not intimidated by the alleged endorsement of the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, by the Arewa Consultative Forum.
A chieftain of the ACF, Muhammad Yakubu, had announced days ago that Atiku had been chosen as the candidate of the North ahead Saturday’s presidential election.
Yakubu’s pronouncement was in contrast with the position of ACF Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, who had, on Sunday, urged northerners and Nigerians to vote any candidate of their choice.
But Yakubu, who is the ACF National Assistant Auditor, told journalists on Monday that recent statements by notable northern elders such as Alhaji Zango Daura, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, among others, were enough evidence that the region had settled for Atiku.
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He said, “The North supported Obasanjo and he won; the North supported former President Goodluck Jonathan and Jonathan won.
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“The North is supporting Atiku not because Atiku is from the North. No, it’s because at this point, among the candidates we have now, it is Atiku that has the capacity, the competence and the integrity and the reach across the country.”
But reacting to the endorsement, the PCC Director of Strategic Communications, Idris Mohammed, said, “Tinubu is not losing sleep” over the position of the ACF.
Mohammed said, “As far as we are concerned, the ACF is just a group. There are lots of northern groups out there who have also supported Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He is not only reaching out to groups, he is also campaigning to the masses.
“Everywhere you go, you will see the kind of crowd that Tinubu has amassed and the commentaries people make about him. So, we really don’t take the ACF endorsement seriously.
“What we take seriously is the way Nigerians, especially the northerners you talked about are going to vote. We are very optimistic that Asiwaju is going to emerge victorious in Saturday’s poll. Anybody can say anything.”