The Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (ACCSON) has disagreed with Alhaji Yerima Shettima over his comments on power shift to the South East, insisting that it’s time for Igbos to rule Nigeria.
According to ACCSON, Yerima’s comment that it’s too late for the presidency to shift to South East in 2023 does not hold water because he is not Arewa’s mouthpiece, even as his position was unfair to the Igbos, devoid of reason and empathy and does not bode well for the unity and corporate oneness of the country.
A statement signed by (ACCSON) spokesman, Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem, in Kaduna on Saturday said Yerima is not even a youth and could not have spoken for Arewa youth as he is above the 35 years stipulated by Nigerian National Youth Policy (2019) and African Youth Charter.
“The attention of Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigerian (ACCSON) has been drawn to a statement purportedly credited to one Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the self acclaimed president of Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, saying that ‘It is too late for the 2023 Presidency to be zoned to the South East’. ACCSON considers the said statement as a reckless one devoid of reason, empathy and fairness.
“It is indecorous and even outrightly provocative and inciting in nature. We strongly believe that no genuine democrat with sincere national interest and who cherishes the spirit of unity and corporate existence of Nigeria will utter such insensitive comments at this critical political time in our country.
“The said statement by Alhaji Yerima Shettima does not, in any way, represent the recent position of our umbrella youth coalition, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACCSON), that the Presidency of Nigeria in 2023 should be specifically zoned to the South East geo-political zone, in the interest of political equity and fairness.
“The statement by Shettima stands condemned in it’s totality by ACCSON, and we expect Nigerians and particularly the media to treat the statement purely as the personal opinion of Yerima Shettima, a former youth activist from our Northern region.
“The position of (ACCSON) calling for rotational presidency among the six geo political zones of the country was as a result of our peculiar regional experiences. Both past and present crop of elected and appointed leaders from within our region have failed us completely. They have failed to meet up with the expectations of our people, and have continued to betray our trust, confidence and respect for them,” the statement said.
