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ACF pushes for northern presidential candidate in 2027
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has declared its intention to support northerners vying for the presidency in 2027.
The Forum stated this in a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting in Kaduna State and its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Mohammed-Buba.
The ACF blamed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the worsening condition of the North and the poor state of the country’s economy.
The group lamented that President Tinubu’s flawed selection process had allowed many people without competence or experience to rise to positions of power and authority in the country.
The ACF urged the government to take another look at its economic policies to give it a human face.
The communique read: “Security is an irreducible minimum of human existence. In this regard, insecurity in its various manifestations remains the most worrisome challenge of Arewa people, that has even started to corrosively undermine the authority of government; such that people have started to ask what the purpose of government is!
“That those whose responsibility that it is to provide security will be saying they are doing their best is unacceptable. The minimum duty of government is to safeguard life and property, and doing anything less is a failure.
“Members expressed displeasure at the current and continuing improvisation of the proverbial common men and women in the country due to the economic policies of the current administration.
“The Meeting noted in particular that Arewa people remain at great disadvantage, being already relatively worse off economically, compared to other parts of Nigeria. Livelihoods are currently dependent on micro activities.
“The region faces acute and chronic food insecurity; its youths lack education and skills training. Daunting as these may be, they can be reversed. The time to think big is now.
“Notwithstanding the parlous state of Arewa’s glaring challenging economic conditions, the policies of current Federal Government has continued to make matters much worse, with little indications of needed sensitivity to the precarious existential conditions of Arewa people.
“Succinctly stated, economic reforms while indeed desirable, should not impoverish the same people that they are meant to serve; the people may not be alive to reap the putative benefits.”
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s family residence in Kogi was reportedy invaded by gunmen around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16, leaving damaged windows but no injuries.
The incident happened at her hometown residence in Obeiba-Ihima, located in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Sources familiar with the event said the attackers arrived around 1:00 a.m. Armed with cutlasses and guns, they damaged parts of the building, smashing windows and causing panic in the area. At least three men were involved in the attack.
Senator Natasha’s Chief Security Officer, Yakubu Ovanja, quickly informed the appropriate security agencies.
In response, officers from the Okehi Police Division rushed to the scene.
Although nobody was hurt and no suspects have been arrested yet, security officials recorded the extent of the damage and launched a preliminary investigation.
The reason behind the attack is still unknown, and as of now, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has not released any official statement. She represents Kogi Central in the Senate and is known as a vocal figure in Nigerian politics.
According to Zagazola Makama, police are still trying to figure out what motivated the attackers and are working to find those responsible.
The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community also in Otukpo LGA.
Benue has in the past decade experienced incessant attacks.
Suspected herdsmen have again stepped up violent attacks as no fewer than three communities in the Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State were attacked on Wednesday.
The communities affected during the fresh attacks include Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju all in Otukpo where five persons were killed in February. The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community also in Otukpo LGA.
Local sources confirm that several people may have been feared dead again in the fresh attack.
Wednesday’s attack came hours after Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed the arrest of three suspected herders in connection with the invasion of Otobi village on Tuesday night.
When contacted, Otukpo LGA Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the attack on the three communities, saying that the attackers stormed the communities at the time when the Commissioner of Police was still at the Ochidoma Palace over the previous day’s attack on Otobi.
He added that three people sustained injury in the attacks on the three communities, leading to women and children abandoning the communities for fear of being killed.
“Only young men were in the communities when the attackers arrived. The prompt response from combined security operatives made the attackers flee and none of them were arrested,” Ogiri stated.
The police spokesperson in the state, Sewuese Anene, was yet to confirm details of the attacks on the three communities.
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