Festus Keyamo, spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has described as “horrendous” the statement by Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asking northerners not to vote for a Yoruba or Igbo candidate.
Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is Yoruba, while Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party is Igbo.
Speaking at an interactive session of the Arewa townhall policy dialogue in Kaduna on Saturday, Atiku, who is from Adamawa in the north-east, told his audience which included Hausa and Fulani persons, that they do not need an Igbo or Yoruba as president but “someone from the north”.
“I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north, and who also understands the other parts of Nigeria and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country,” he said.
“This is what the northerner needs. He (northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate, or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs.”
Reacting to the comment, Keyamo asked the former vice-president to quit the race forthwith.
He said: “This is the height of desperation & daredevilry on the part of Atiku! This is so horrendous, so horrible & so thoughtless for Atiku Abubakar to use ethnicity to campaign, saying the North does not need a YORUBA OR IBO candidate? My God! Atiku needs to quits the race TODAY!”
