Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential contender, has come under fire from former presidential candidate Kingsley Moghalu for a speech he made in Kaduna State that some believe downplayed the significance of Yoruba and Igbo voters in the upcoming election.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Atiku stated on Saturday in Kaduna, during an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee, that the average northerner does not require an Igbo or Yoruba president in the general elections of 2023.
Following the former vice president’s remarks, voters and political figures in several states reacted in a flurry, mocking the presidential contender.
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Moghalu expressed his disappointment with Atiku’s remark, joining a host of others in lamenting it.
The former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via his verified Twitter page on Sunday said Atiku’s 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”, Moghalu said.
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He called on Atiku to withdraw the statement and tender an apology to Nigerians who picked offence in his utterances.
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