2019: Arewa youths to hold mock election for Northern presidential candidates

Mock elections would be held for all the presidential aspirants from the North including President Muhammadu Buhari, leaders of the the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement (ACYM) announced on Thursday, May 3.

The development was made public by the ACYM president, Comrade Kabiru Yusuf, as he delivered his acceptance speech. Yusuf said the poll would be conducted in order to get a presidential candidate that shared the same vision with the youths.

Our source notes that other presidential aspirants listed are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe state; Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state; former Governor of Kaduna state, ‎Senator Ahmed Makarfi; former Governor of Kano state, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; and former Governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido.

Yusuf stated: “Several politicians and aspirants from the North have indicated interest in the forth-coming 2019 presidential election. We shall, in due course, conduct a mock election with a view to feeling the pulse of the youth from the North and eventually deciding on a most prospective candidate.

“The mock election will soon commence on our website and will last for ‎a period of 60 days before the announcement of results. I enjoin all of us to think critically about this before we make our choice and also mobilise for him.

“There cannot be a better chance for us to contribute to give Nigeria the kind of leadership it deserves in this 21st century. The abject poverty and insecurity ‎in the North must be tackled head-on, and it is our responsibility.

In a related development.Senator Ahmed Makarfi, former chairman, national caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was urged to run for the presidency in 2019, by the Arewa Concerned Youths and Development (ACYD.

The chairman of the group, Ibrahim Suleiman, who addressed a news conference comprising representatives from the 19 northern states and the Federeal Capital Territory, stated that they had agreed unanimously, to back Makarfi for the nations’ top political office.

The conference was convened to highlight Makarfi’s various strides in the political field.