Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has lashed at the Southern Governors’ Forum over their position ahead of the 2023 presidency.
According to the forum, the North would not allow itself to be mandated to yield to the interest of the southern people in a democratically elected office.
The southern governors had at the meeting in Lagos insisted that the South should produce the next president of the country in 2023.
But the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the forum was not in support of the position of the southern governors at their meeting in Lagos on Monday.
“We are running a democratic government and decisions over where the next president comes from are basically decisions that will be made by voters exercising their rights to choose which candidate best serves their interest”, Baba-Ahmed said.
He advised that rather than coming up with such a position, the governors, who came from the leading political parties in the country should use their influence in the parties.
He, however, warned the governors not to stylishly violate the rights of the Nigerian citizens by threats or intimidation, adding that the people should be left to determine their leaders.