The Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) has urged Senator Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and other Nigerians above 60-years aspiring for the post of president in the 2023 general elections to bury their ambitions.
Speaking few days after Arewa Youth Consultative Forum kicked against ‘old’ aspirants eyeing the presidential seat, CNF said candidates above 60-years have seen it all and done it all and should be in retirement to allow the younger generation prove their mettle. It said even the civil service does not condone Nigerians above 60 years.
CNF spokesman, Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, in a statement on Wednesday said aspirants above 60 years have no business in aspiring for the presidency of the country.
“In Nigeria today, our civil service will not retain any individual above 60 years of age no matter his/her experience and the value such accomplished individual will add to our system, this is enshrined in law,” he said.
He said people above 60 are only engaged as consultants, advisors or committee members to help formulate policies.
“In developed nations, people of such age are mostly engaged in charitable activities, free consultancy services, and all forms of selfless services to their nation and populace. They are not involved in any form of forgery or desperate move in aspiring for presidency to which he has no value to add.
“A research carried out by CNF revealed that most of our political elites’ inclinations to be Nigeria’s president, are for reasons not beyond lust for power and affluence, with no blueprint on how to tackle the enormous challenges bedeviling us as a nation.
“The time has come to give our mandate to candidates below 60 years, with good manifestos, and the political will to help address our immediate, short term and long term problems, which has made us the poverty headquarters of the world despite our population, and abundant resources, which ordinarily should be advantageous to us.
“The 2023 presidency should be based on personal competence, health status, integrity and credibility to determine the candidate’s marketability and electability. We cannot allow the recycling of old politicians who have been instrumental to the enormous problems facing our country from 1999 to still come and lead us to more uncertainty,” he said.
