The national leadership of Northern Youths Leader Forum (NYLF) yesterday gave a seven-day ultimatum to President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly apologise to the people of the North over the death wish advert targeted at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
The advertorial was published by two national newspapers last Monday on their front pages. It was sponsored by Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The NULF said it was saddened over the President’s silence on the issue. But the PDP leadership on Tuesday disowned the advertorial, saying Gov. Fayose was on his own.
In a statement issued by the forum’s, National Chairman, Comrade Elliot Afiyo, said if Jonathan did not apologise within the seven days and didn’t call Fayose to order, the President and PDP will lose Northern votes in next month’s elections.
He said, “we consider this act as a deliberate and conscious attempt to cause chaos in the country so as to call for election postponement moreso that it is coming from a leader and a member of the ruling PDP, the silence from PDP and the Presidency had given credence to this belief that the death wish advert was actually the handiwork of the Presidency and not that of Fayose alone”.
The group said, “in this regard we wish to state clearly that as much as the forum is trying to cool the overstretched nerves of the northern youths, it is absolutely necessary that the President personally dissociates himself clearly from this advert”.
The NYLF also demanded letters of apology to the families of General Murtala Mohammed, General Sani Abacha and Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua if at all the PDP will convince an average northerner to vote for it.
The group also cleared the air on the attack on Jonathan’s campaign team in Katsina State, pointing out that the truth remains that those youths that were involved were not APC or General Buhari’s supporters.
That rather, “they are youths of the North comprising relatives, friends, associates and well-wishers of the affected families who felt aggrieved or angered over the statement made by Katsina State Governor Shema on killing kenkeso (cockroaches) and the advert placed by Governor Fayose without any open or public rebuke or chastisement by the Presidency.”
The forum, however, cautioned the northern youths to eschew bitterness in strongest term as the act of violence is unjustifiable.
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