The Northern Leaders Consultative Forum (NLCF) has endorsed the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar for the 2023 elections. The group comprises of Christian and Muslim religious and political leaders in the north, including a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
The group announced the endorsement of Abubakar at a news conference on Friday in Abuja, following the adoption of a report by its technical criteria committee.
The report was presented by Simon Achuba, former deputy governor of Kogi state.
According to the group, after evaluation of all the presidential candidates, Abubakar emerged as the best.
The group said, “It is evident that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is heading for implosion and extinction; hence, it cannot be the party for now and in the future, because of its rejection to embrace inclusiveness in a diverse country like Nigeria. “After the 2023 elections, APC may be dead and buried as a political party,” the report reads.
“While the duo (NNPP and LP) may emerge as strong contenders in the political arena in the future, from all indications, PDP appears to be the best option to adopt and support.
“All it takes is to sustain and tackle some of the problems and challenges this country is facing.
“Certainly, with proper consultations and inclusive appointments, which is mindful of the federal character principle with a sincere consideration of diverse issues such as religious affiliation, geographical location, and ethnic identity, which many believe will enhance justice, fairness and equity, after a careful evaluation of all the issues highlighted above, we hereby recommend the adoption of the PDP to all lovers of democracy in Nigeria for the 2023 presidential election.”
The report was put to a voice vote by Dogara and was unanimously adopted by the members.
The group added that it will discuss its adoption of Abubakar with the PDP to get the “necessary assurance from the party (PDP) to run an all-inclusive government”.
The development comes days after Babachir Lawal, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), endorsed Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).
Members of a group of northern Christians in the APC led by Lawal had, however, distanced themselves from the LP emdorsement and said the former SGF spoke for himself.
Lawal and Dogara had supported Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the APC, until the latter picked Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
Credit: TheCable
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it is working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to resolve network hitches that may arise over uploading of results for the 2023 elections.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure on Friday at a one-day strategic interactive session with journalists in Lagos.
Yakubu said the commission will meet with the NCC on Tuesday to discuss mobile network issues that may affect transmission of results.
He assured that Nigerians have nothing to worry about regarding the effectiveness of result transmission during the 2023 elections using the BVAS.
He said, “INEC has identified blind spots (where there is poor or no network) and we are working to make sure there won’t be any problem.
“We are working with the NCC to make sure we transmit from blindspots. They are the network regulators and they will be very vital to that.
“We are making sure and working hard so that we transmit freely all around the country.”
Also in his remarks, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee,
Festus Okoye, urged the media to continue to assist the commission to fight misinformation.
Okoye said with 84 days to the general election, the spread of fake news and misinformation on the electoral process had become worrisome.
He said there is a need for the media to assist in tackling the menace of false information for a successful general election in 2023.
