Northern youth groups, NANS endorse Atiku

With barely two weeks to the presidential election, a coalition of Northern youth groups on Saturday endorsed the joint ticket of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa

The duo were endorsed at a town hall engagement, organised by the Office of the National Youth Leader of the PDP, with youth groups in Gombe. At the meeting, various bodies took turns to advance reasons for supporting the former vice president.

Alhassan Adamu, the coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Zone E comprising Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states, while speaking at the event, lamented the suffering of Nigerian students who recently lost a whole academic session due to the strike called by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

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In Atiku, Adamu said, Nigeria has a man who believes in the significance of education and nation-building having invested his personal fortune to set up one of the leading private universities in the country.

He said, “It is time we make our voices heard. What we suffered as students of tertiary institutions recently is difficult to recount. No nation desirous of making progress and catching up with the civilised nations of the world can afford to treat her students the way we were treated. But this is not the time for lamentation. It is time for decision-making. We, members of NANS, Zone E have decided to support the ambition of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP in this election.”

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Also speaking, Zakari Hashim of the Nigerian Youth Union lauded the contribution of Atiku to national development, stressing that his government would witness a total overhaul of critical sectors of the economy. He subsequently moved a motion for the adoption of Atiku and Okowa.

The National Youth Council of Nigeria described the duo of Atiku and Okowa as a dedicated pair committed to the good of the nation.

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A statement signed by the National Youth Leader of the PDP, Mohammed Kadede, noted that with the spate of endorsements, “it is safe to say the PDP is primed to win the North-East overwhelmingly.”

Kadede urged the youths to vote for a man who believes in their welfare and retains faith in their abilities to make Nigeria great again.

“In Atiku, you have a man who is ready to go the whole distance to make you achieve your goals. The youths and women have a special place in his heart. With him in the saddle, we will not spend seven years in the university for a course that has a maximum duration of four years,” he said.

On his part, Osadolor enjoined the youths to take their destiny into their hands, noting that Atiku and Okowa are tested leaders who will hit the ground running from day one.