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Prof. Kingsley Moghalu who is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lashed out at a comment by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar that Northers don’t need Igbo or Yoruba to be president.
The Eastern Updates recalls Atiku had on Saturday during an interactive sanction With Arewa Joint Committee held in Kaduna State, claimed that Northerners do not need Igbo or Yoruba presidency in the forthcoming election.
According to him, in the next general elections, Northerners need to vote for him rather than a Yoruba or Igbo candidate because he’s a Pan-Nigerian with a northern extraction.
When Baba-Ahmed asked Atiku why Northerners should vote for him, the PDP presidential candidate replied, ‘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.’
Atiku’s shocking utterance has been generating reactions from concerned Nigerians across the country.
Read Also: Kanu: You Lack Capacity To Stop Biafra – IPOB Blats Atiku
In his reaction on his verified Twitter handle, the former CBN Deputy Governor said the comment was 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.
‘All candidates in the 2023 presidential election must avoid ethnic or other divisive sentimental appeals’.
He called on Atiku to withdraw the statement and tender apology to Nigerians who picked offence in his utterances.
