2023: Pro-Atiku groups reject former VP, seek power shift to south

Some supporters of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, under the aegis of the Coalition of Concerned Groups on Power Shift to the South, did a spectacular U-turn on Thursday, denouncing the former Vice President ahead of the 2023 presidential election. 

They claimed that their determination to pursue a power transfer to the south was unanimous.  

National President, Middle Belt Network for Atiku, Luka Pam; Secretary General, Middle Belt Network for Atiku, Madaki Yakubu; National Coordinator, North 4 North Support Group for Atiku, Mohammed Garba, and National Secretary, North 4 North Support Group for Atiku, Abubakar Sanni; National Coordinator, Turaki Arewa Vanguard for Atiku, Musa Abdullahi, and Deputy Coordinator, Turaki Arewa Vanguard for Atiku, Abubakar Sanni in Abuja, Nigeria.  

The statement reads in part, “We are in a position to present an unbiased representation of the pulse and mood of the nation”. 

“Nigeria, unlike any other country in Africa that went through colonialism, through a coming together of interests coalesced under the banner of the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates to form the current entity. 

“Today, more than at any other time in her history, the country’s unity is under threat by s collection of centripetal forces, a situation which can only be addressed by equitable opportunity at aspiring for the leadership of Nigeria, to give these two regional blocs a sense of belonging to what is today known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

“Today, in the face of ongoing insurgencies and separatist movements feeding various sentiments that have left the average Nigerian with low morale and uncertainty over the future of the country, it is only fair that there is a power shift to the southern region”. 

“There have been several calls to that effect, and we hereby wish to lend our voice to those calls, with It is our considered opinion, with Nigeria’s continued corporate existence as a united country under threat, that it is only fair in the interest of fairness and equity rather than majority rule, for power to return to the southern part of Nigeria”. 

“We are, by this media briefing, calling on any political party interested in national unity come 2023 to do the needful on this fundamental patriotic call. Having sampled opinions of the everyday Nigerian, across board using different scientific and informal methods, we join our voices and stake our integrity on this demand for power shift to the southern part of Nigeria come 2023.”