Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential contender, has come under fire from former presidential candidate Kingsley Moghalu for a speech he made in Kaduna State that some believe downplayed the significance of Yoruba and Igbo voters in the upcoming election.
An average northerner does not require an Igbo or Yoruba president in the 2023 general elections, according to Atiku, who made this statement on Saturday in Kaduna during an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee.
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Following the former vice president’s remarks, voters and political figures in several states reacted in a flurry, mocking the presidential contender.
Moghalu expressed his disappointment with Atiku’s remark, joining a host of others in lamenting it.
On Sunday, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) claimed that Atiku’s comment was a “direct appeal to divisive ethnic emotion and a denigration of the biggest ethnic groupings in Southern Nigeria” via his verified Twitter page.
The video clip of H.E. Atiku Abubakar @atiku, a former vice-president of Nigeria, telling a crowd in Kaduna that the North needs a northerner to be president rather than a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, upset me greatly.
According to Moghalu, “all contenders in the 2023 presidential race must avoid ethnic or other polarizing sentimental appeals.”
He urged Atiku to retract the statement and express regret to Nigerians who took offense at his remarks.
