Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, NEF, PANDEF endorse Atiku

Several regional socio-cultural groups across Nigeria including Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Northern Elders Forum, Pan-Niger Delta Forum and the Middle Belt Forum have endorsed the People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for the 2019 Presidential elections.

The groups came together in at a meeting held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, on Sunday.

At the meeting themed ‘Summit of Nigerian Leaders and Elders’, the groups said they were endorsing Atiku because he possesses the intelligence, capability and knowledge to lead Nigeria.

The groups noted that they came to the decision after meeting with different presidential candidates.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stands as the major opposition to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking re-election at the polls on February 16.

The groups accused President Buhari of dividing the country rather than uniting it while asserting that the President had lost control of the government.

Participants in the meeting include Chief Ayo Adebanjo (Afenifere), Chief  John Nnia Nwodo (Ohanaeze Ndigbo), Dr Pogu Bitrus (Middle Belt Forum), Malam Ango Abdullahi (Northern Elders Forum), Chief Edwin Clark (Pan Niger Delta Forum), and Buba Galadima.

Buhari, the All Progressives Congress candidate, also has the endorsement of an Afenifere faction, led by Chief Ayo Fasanmi while the suspended general secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Uche Okwukwu, also drummed support for the president.