.Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has accused the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of scheming to have them endorse him as the sole candidate of the north for the 2023 general elections but his plot has now been repelled.
Alhaji Seidu Baba, a member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), said at a press conference in Abuja that it was untrue that NEF had endorsed the former vice president as its candidate for the February 25 polls.
Rumours were rife that the respected northern body was planning to publicly endorse the Adamawa-born politician as its candidate at NEF’s 10th Anniversary held within the week but Baba denied such a plan, saying, “Atiku has no credentials to be a sole Northern Presidential candidate”.
Baba said: “There was an attempt to cajole and even force the NEF to adopt him (Atiku), which shows how desperate he is.
“Many people believe, that although the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-rufai, was condemning Northern elders, it is believed, his real target was Atiku Abubakar.
“There is no way Atiku can be a Northern candidate because he does not know them and we do not know him.”
“It is believed Atiku got wind of his rejection the reason he failed to show up at the NEF Assembly and could not send any representative.
“Atiku has not been seen as somebody who is close to the North, because he has not been fair to us.
“He is somebody that has his base outside the North.”
