2019 Elections: Northern Discussion Group backs Buhari

Seven days to the Presidential election, the Northern Discussion Group, (NDG) has thrown its weight behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a press conference held at Arewa House on Saturday, the guest speaker who also spoke on behalf of the group, Professor Abdullahi Musa Ashafa remarked that the group decided to support the incumbent because in all the three areas he promised to fix during the 2015 electioneering campaign, he has not derailed.

“Supporting Atiku at this critical time is akin to a wasteful venture as if he comes on board, the pendulum will swing back. But giving another mandate to Buhari will mean that he will not waste time in fixing those areas he felt he has not done well and will continue in those areas he has done well.”

Defending their stand, Ashafa contended that Buhari came at a time when “Nigerian state was caught in a vicious cycle of bad governance, corrosive corruption and patrimonialism.”

He argued further, “that the present government under Buhari has not derailed in its promises, saying, the gang up against Buhari was due to his refusal to renew oil block licenses to some group of Nigerians who feel without them Nigeria will not move.

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According to him, in all the three areas the president campaigned with before the 2015 elections including economy, corruption and insecurity he has performed above average.

Asha, however, urged Nigerians to give President Muhammadu Buhari another mandate to consolidate on his existing achievements of the past four years.

While saying that the PDP should not be trusted with power again, he reminded citizens of voting age and those whom have acquired their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) that the forthcoming general election is their destiny.

“It is a refrendum between the enablers and icons of honesty, accountability, transparency and inteterity versus kleptocrats and those who see nothing morally wrong in thievery,” Ashafa said.

Ashafa, however, urged Nigerians to vote massively for President Buhari and to take the forthcoming elections seriously.

“All political parties either in government or opposition must be responsible enough to remain as patriotic contestants that play by the rules while taking the larger interests of the nation into consideration.

It was for this reason he declared that “we are urging Nigerians to massively vote for Buhari because, the next week election is a referendum between bad and good. It is an election that will define Nigerians in their true colour.”