By Kamsi Anayo
Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, a former Presidential aspirant has called on Atiku Abubakar to apologise to Nigerians over his statement during an Interactive Session with Arewa Joint Committee held on Saturday in Kaduna state.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the interaction, said that Nigeria doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo President in 2023.
He said “I have traversed the whole of this country, I know the whole of the country, I have built bridges across the country.
“What the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the north and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country. This is what the Northerner needs, it doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate, I stand before you as a Pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”
Moghalu said he was very disappointed with Atiku’s statement as its a “direct appeal to divisive ethnic sentiment and a denigration of the largest ethnic groups in Southern Nigeria.”
“I was very disappointed to view the video clip of H.E. Atiku Abubakar @atiku , a former Vice-President of Nigeria, telling an audience in Kaduna that what the North needs is a northerner to be President, and not a Yoruba or Igbo candidate.
“I have a lot of respect for Atiku who, despite his flaws (which all the other leading contenders also have), I have always regarded as a truly cosmopolitan politician in our country. His reference to his ‘building bridges’ across the country does not negate his clear message.
“That message was a direct appeal to divisive ethnic sentiment and a denigration of the largest ethnic groups in Southern Nigeria. I think he should withdraw the statement and apologize to Nigerians for it.
“All candidates in the 2023 presidential election must avoid ethnic or other divisive sentimental appeals,” Moghalu wrote via twitter handle on Sunday.
