2023: We’ll Announce Who To Support Soon, Dogara, Other Northern Christian Leaders Disown Babachir Lawal

Northern Christian Leaders in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, have disowned the announcement on Thursday by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, where he announced the group had endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

A statement issued on Thursday evening and signed by eight of the leaders said arrangement has been made to formally make the announcement as no one, not even the group’s chairman, Lawal, was mandated to do so.

The statement read, “We want to draw the attention of the general public to the recent position canvassed by our Chairman, Engr B D Lawal, as the position of our Group.

“We wish to state that necessary consultations have been concluded, and based on manifestly unassailable empirical data, the group is poised to adopt a position which will be made known to the public at an interfaith event to be held very soon.

“Also suffices to say that no one in the group including the Chairman has been mandated to speak to the public about our position at this material time.

“Based on our modus Operandi, our position was meant to be presented to the general public at the event above referred to. That has not changed.

“Consequently, the decision to endorse a particular candidate and the statement credited to the chairman are soley the decision and views of the Chairman which he is absolutely entitled to but not that of the group.

“We hope this statement clears all the queries most of us have been inundated with on this all important subject matter,” the statement said.

Those who signed the statement included Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, Simon Achuba, Hon Albert Atiwurcha, Prof Doknan Sheni and Mela A. Nunge, SAN.

Others were Gen Ishaya Bauka Rtd, Prof Ibrahim Haruna, and Mrs Leah Olusiyi.

Lawal had appeared on Arise TV on Thursday evening, revealing that the aggrieved APC members had decided to endorse Obi as he represents “a breath of fresh air.”

He said equity demands that since the Southwest and North have had the presidency since 1999, the Southeast should be allowed to produce the next president.