Yobe State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders has disassociated itself from the elders who vowed to work against Senator Kashim Shetima as Vice presidential candidate of the APC.
Leader of the group, Hon. Sidi Yakubu Karasuwa, who spoke with Daily Trust on the phone, also accused the leaders of fanning the embers of disunity in the region and the country.
He said, “The position of the so-called leaders was unfortunate, given their self-assumed pedigree as elder statesmen in the Northeast”.
He described Shittima as the best-fit running mate for Bola Tinubu while calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to support the duo for a better Nigeria.
“In fact, the choice of Senator Shettima is indeed a round peg in a round hole.
“We are going to embark on massive mobilisation for the party, the presidential candidate and his running mate and we are sure of victory in the general elections, God willing.”
Karasuwa also stressed that Shettima’s nomination was a boost for the aspiration of the Northeastern part of the country.
“More so, Shettima is a core party loyalist, political strategist and consummate politician with a deep interest in the unity and development of the country”.
He said the group’s allegation linking Shettima to Boko Haram is not only unsubstantiated but reckless, considering how Shettima fought the insurgents for eight years as governor and the psychological trauma he went through all those years as governor.
The elders under the umbrella of the Coalition of North East Elders for Peace and Development had vowed to work against the APC for fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Engr. Zana Goni, on Saturday, the elders described APC’s action as an evil agenda that does not promote equity and fairness in a diverse Nigeria.
