A GROUP, Concerned Northern Youths Forum (CNYF), has stated its support for President Goodluck Jonathan and condemned the alleged endorsement of General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF).

   CNYF described the decision by NEF as untenable, which does not represent the opinion of majority of northerners.

   Addressing a press conference in Bauchi Sunday, CNYF’s National Chairman, AlKasim Charanchi, assured President Jonathan and Namadi Sambo of substantial votes from the north and that his group has mobilized its members across the 19 northern states to vote for PDP.

   “We totally condemn the recent support of the NEF for the presidential candidature of Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming election. We view the so-called support as not only partisan but against the collective interest of the whole North.”

   According to him, “As elders, we expect that the NEF would look far ahead and plan accordingly. The North already has a vice president in Namadi Sambo and allowing President Goodluck Jonathan to have a second slot at the presidency means giving the North an automatic ticket for the presidency in 2019.”

   He said the achievements of President Jonathan’s administration in the North is unprecedented and is enough for the NEF to canvass support him in the polls.

   According to him, “As a body of elders which seeks the collective interest of the North, we expect that the NEF would be neutral and not single out a candidate for its support because our votes alone cannot ensure the emergence of a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We need the support of other parts of the country to produce a president, we need a national president, not a regional leader.”

   He accused the elders of making the insurgency problem their major campaign issue against President Jonathan, saying he has done the needful in curbing the menace by deploying troops to the troubled North East region but called on every northerner to cooperate with the president to combating the insurgency.