Buhari vs Atiku: Arewa Forum announces preferred presidential candidate

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for re-election.

The group endorsed the president at a meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday. It said Buhari has taken steps to improve and re-position the nation.

Musa Kwande, acting chairman of the forum, said Buhari deserves a second term to consolidate on his achievements.

The forum listed some of Buhari’s achievements as “the multi-billion Dollar Mambilla hydro power project, the exploration of oil in Gongola Basin of the Benue trough, the Baro inland port, the North East Development Commission, the ongoing rail line projects nationwide and other critical infrastructural development projects”.

“The Buhari administration has improved on the economic and infrastructural development of the nation and has made achievements in combating insurgency and other insecurity problems bedeviling the country,” the group said in a statement.

“The ACF is therefore, of the view that certain attributes such as clarity of thought, unity of purpose, content of character and morality of the candidates, their leadership qualities, performance and general acceptability of the candidates contesting for not only the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but also for other elective offices should guide voters in making their choices.

“The decision on who to elect should not be based on any form of inducements, mob hysteria, intimidation or false promises, but by calm and deliberate consideration of the candidates’ qualities of leadership, performance and moral standing in their public and private lives.

“Furthermore, other considerations such as capacity to tackle security challenges, fight corruption, and boost the economy by way of diversification away from over dependence on oil, by infrastructural development in order to promote growth.

“The integrity of the candidate to raise the image of Nigeria in the comity of nations is equally important in the election.”

The forum called on politicians and their supporters as well as the electorate to avoid all forms of violence before, during and after the elections and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to live up to its promise and assurances of free, fair and credible elections.