Northern elders speak about adopting presidential candidate for 2019

Northern leaders have promised to assess all northern candidates adopted by all political parties and select a consensus candidate ahead of the 2019 presidential election. Vanguard reports that the leaders inaugurated “standing committees that will not only drive home their political consideration, but also ensure the crises that have since plagued the region were adequately tackled with attendant restoration of permanent peace.” The committees include 2019 presidential elections, restructuring, security and other strategic areas and are expected to submit their report by March 31. They dismissed the adoption of President Muhammadu Buhari for the 2019 by some state chapters of All Progressives Congress. They noted that only the party’s convention can adopt him for his by Alhaji Tanko Yakassai who is the chairman of the organisation said: “There is a provision for adopting candidates and so far, we have not seen that happen to President Muhammadu Buhari, following his rumoured second term bid. And until that is done, any adoption by state chapters of his party is not legal. "The constitution of APC or other political parties has not provided for the executives of the parties to nominate candidates; it is only the convention that does that. Ours is an organisation whose doors are opened to all, we are not here for a particular political party. “If the President had summoned a stakeholders’ meeting between farmers and herdsmen, traditional rulers, political and religious leaders, National Assembly and all of that, and laid the issue before them, some ideas would be developed to provide direction for the government to follow.” He also spoke about the farmers-herdsmen crises, suggesting that ranches rather than reserves should be adopted.