A group of youths in the north under the aegis of the Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF), has asked Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to distance himself from Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation.
AYIF national president Adamu Adamu, said this in reaction to the claim of Fani-Kayode that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has agreed to work against the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Concise News recalls that the aviation minister had made the comment in a tweet on Saturday but Uche Mefor, Kanu’s deputy, denied the claim.
AYIF, however, vowed to stop Abubakar because his alliance with the Fani-Kayode and the pro-Biafra group leader would destabilize Nigeria.
Adamu said the Waziri Adamawa would lose the support of northern youths if he fails to distance himself from politicians heating up the polity.
The statement read: “AYIF has followed with concerns the reappearance of the wanted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and the invitation to anarchy by one of those standing trial for corruption, Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), who disclosed that Kanu has agreed to work for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming elections,” he said in a statement.
“We recognize that Fani-Kayode and Kanu are running their personal battles against substance abuse but our empathy cannot extend to the willful choice to demonize other ethnic groups and call for violence against them. The alliance they are talking about is nothing but trying to create a publicly acceptable platform for their hate-mongering. They have nothing good to offer Nigerians.
“We, therefore, warn the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that he risks losing the support of Arewa if he associates his campaign with Femi Fani-Kayode and Nnamdi Kanu, who have both repeatedly declared their disdain and hatred for Nigerians from the northern parts of the country.
“We find it abominable that Fani-Kayode who sees Arewa as a plague and Kanu who sees us as animals can today be attempting to hitch a ride on Atiku Abubakar’s PDP ticket when they still hold steadfastly to their genocidal views against Hausa/Fulani. If they successfully hitch the ride they seek then we will rather mobilize for the person the PDP is seeking to unseat.
“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the PDP must immediately formally distance themselves from FFK and Kanu failing which AYIF will be compelled to mobilize other Arewa youth groups to express their displeasure with the PDP,” reads the statement.
