A NORTHERN political pressure group, the North West Arewa Youths has called on the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu not to betray the North West in it’s quest to produce the next Senate President of the 10th Senate.
This was as the group rejected the endorsement of the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and urged the president-elect not to allow politicians from other geopolitical zones of the country to ambush him over the Senate Presidency seat.
The youths under the aegis of Arewa Youths of Nigeria (AYON) also reminded the President-elect that he’s not known as a use and dump leader and cautioned him not to betray the North West, which gave him 30 percent votes in the just concluded presidential election.
Addressing journalists at a peaceful protest in solidarity of Senator Abdulaziz Yari for the position of Senate President on Thursday in Abuja, the Arewa Youths said they were astonished, dismayed and appalled when they read in the news that the President-Elect was supporting a South-South candidate for Senate President rather than the North-west that gave him the most votes in the election.
The zonal coordinator of the group, Dr. Tanko Abdullahi, who was represented by the President of Northern Youths Council, Useni Abubakar, also cautioned the President-elect not to allow sycophants to decieve him.
He said: “We assure the President-elect that the North-west support for him was as a result of our belief that the President-elect is a man who believes that political loyalty can only be paid back with political loyalty.
“We do not know the President-Elect as a use and dump leader hence we want to remind Senator Tinubu should not allow Nigerians begin to see him from the angle of having used and dumped the good People of North-west Nigeria.
“Doesn’t it amount to political suicide to support a South-South that contributed a mere 799,957 votes just 9% of the total votes to a North-west that contributed 2,651,927 over 30% votes to Senator Tinubu?
“We have intentionally reeled out this figures so that the President-elect will know that those sycophants trying to deceive him do not wish him well.
“We the North-west youths stand solidly with the Northern Students, Women and Leaders that are calling for the Senate President to be domiciled in the North West.”
The Arewa Youths displayed different placards with various inscriptions such as “the North West calls on President-elect, Tinubu not to betray the North West; “North West gave the President-elect over 30% votes, while South South could barely gave 9%. Senate President is our right,” said that they will feel betrayed if the President-elect goes ahead to support Godswill Akpabio as against Abdulaziz Yari.
The group listed why Akpabio shouldn’t be trusted by the position of Senate President, adding that having betrayed PDP, he will still betray APC because of his quest for power.
The Arewa Youths of Nigeria said that Governor Yari is not only a trusted man but a man that President Tinubu can go to bed with his two eyes closed knowing he is not desperate for power.
The group, however, warned that the Nigerian Senate is not an image laundering office but a sacred office.