Newscenter Media News The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has refuted allegations that its criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and some of his policies was because he is a southerner.
The group insisted that it had applied the same zeal in its criticism of the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari who is a northerner.
Secretary-General of the ACF, Murtala Aliyu, who made the clarification on Saturday on a Arise TV programme, ‘News Night,’ said though the ACF is a political platform, it remains impartial and not partisan and would not engage in tribal sentiments.
“I think that’s an unfair judgment to say we criticise the government because a southerner is at the helm of affairs,” Aliyu said.
“We were huge critics of the last northern-led administration, and our records can verify this. We have consistently brought attention to government actions and pressed for improvement when necessary.”
Commenting on its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Aliyu said:
“The ACF’s official position is that selecting candidates is the responsibility of political parties. We’ll assess which candidate is better for the country and the north. We’re not partisan, but rather political, and our interest is the entire northern state and its benefit to the whole country.
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“We don’t take sides, and we’re not against any person, including the current president,” he stated.
“First of all, let me say that we engage the governors at the governors’ forum level. We also engage the governors at the individual level.
“We also engage the traditional rulers. And where there is responsibility at the sub-national level, we bring their attention to that. We are not totally blaming the national government for all the wars in the country.
“Just like the north, any part of the country will have to wake up at the sub-national level to do the right thing and so the federal government will complement those efforts. But such economic policies, the macro-economic policies, are actually defined by the government at the centre.
“If things are going right or wrong at the centre, they should address it. At the micro-level, the state governments or the governments at the sub-national level will handle that. And we are talking to them.
“So, we are not saying we are heaping all the blame on one person or one location. No. We are saying all people at the leadership level should wake up to their responsibility and also be aware that the people at the grassroots are complaining.
“So, we expect to see the promises the government made. That changes will come soon and that succour will come to the people,” Aliyu added.
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