President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Abubakar Atiku were among the founding fathers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014
Coalition of Northern Groups in Nigeria has advised President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar against contesting for the position of President in 2019 because they are above the age of 70.
The Coalition wants younger Nigerians to be given the mandate.
It made this known in a communiqué it issued shortly after the end of a two-day summit at the Arewa House, Kaduna, on Monday.
A leader of the group and the National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, said, “We advise him (Buhari) that we still have people within our generation who have integrity who are very competent and also have the capacity to lead. We are advising him not to contest but if he chooses to go ahead to contest, Nigerians will go ahead to decide. This is our own opinion and advice to somebody whom we feel is a father to us. Anybody above 70 years should not contest.”
In his reaction, Buhari’s media aide Garba Shehu asked the Coalition to cite the section of the Nigeria’s constitution that stipulates that those above 70 years cannot contest the position of president.