Northern youths give Jonathan ultimatum

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 t 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.