42 groups back Bala Mohammed for president in 2023

Youth leaders in 42 groups have endorsed Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to run for President in 2023.

To them, the former Federal Capital Territory Minister has all it takes to fix Nigeria and end insecurity.

They spoke in Yola, the Adamawa State capital at a news conference addressed under the umbrella of Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF).

National Chairman of NYLF Comrade Elliot Afiyo, said Mohammed was picked after a delegation of the youths took a vote among 145 delegates selected from the 19 states in the North.

Afiyo said the governor polled 116 votes to edge out media mogul and businessman Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, who got 23 votes. He said there was only one invalid vote.

On how they arrived as the choice of those put up, Afiyo said it shortlisted out of over 100 people.

He said: “I hereby declare today the 9th of June, 2021 that the NYLF the umbrella body of the 42 Northern Youth Groups has publicly endorsed Senator Bala Mohammed as our choice Candidate for the 2023 Presidential Election under any political party.

“For the benefit of some of you that may not identify Senator. Bala Mohammed physically, we hereby unveil the different faces of our choice Candidate and we strongly believe and truly too, that he will surely fix our dear nation Nigeria.

“To this end, I am hereby directing all our members in Nigeria and abroad, to immediately commence consultations, lobbying and campaigning for the choice candidate even though we are yet to contact him”.

He said: “We want to reiterate our genuine commitment to the Nigerian project and ensure her corporate existence by putting the national interest above any other interest.

“We are aware of threats, intimations, blackmails and others, which always come after every of our endorsement from Nigerians, we are also prepared for such.

We are ever determined to ensure that justice and equity reign supreme in Nigeria in order to secure our future and the future of the generations yet unborn.

“We want to assure Nigerians that the problems of insecurity, poverty and unemployment bedeviling our country will soon be over, Therefore, Nigerians should continue to have faith in God and pray without ceasing.”

Speaking further on how the governor’s choice was made, Afiyo said: “The NYLF initially shortlisted 27 Candidates during its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Gombe on February 14.

“These Candidates were presented to our Political Committee headed by Dr. Sani Musa as Chairman and Prof. Abdullahi Sadiq Abubakar as Secretary.

Consequently, the Committee did a thorough job and submitted three names to NEC.

“These names were properly screened by NEC during our meeting in Kano on May 17, and two of the three names were adopted and qualified for voting.”