The Presidency on Tuesday lauded the Arewa Consultative Forum for distancing itself from the belief in some quarters that it has adopted the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, General Muhammadu Buhari, for the 2015 presidential election.
The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, in a statement in Abuja, noted that the neutrality adopted by the apex body has restored the prestige of the organization.
The Chairman of the ACF, Ahaji Ibrahim Coomasie, was quoted as saying over the weekend that the body had adopted the APC candidate for the 2015 presidential poll.
But a member of the National Executive Council of the ACF, Alhaji Salisu Garba, at a press conference, said the chairman of the forum was on his own, as no member of the NEC had met to endorse the former head of state as the sole candidate of the North for the 2015 presidency.
Prof. Alkali declared that the neutral position the ACF adopted has re-enforced the core principles of the organization as a neutral association, formed to protect the values and interests of all people of the North irrespective of their political, ethnic or religious affiliations.
He described the denial as a welcome development, which has boosted the public confidence in the association as a robust platform for all the people of the North.
He said: “We are ardent believers in the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association for all individuals and groups but the tendency to utilize noble associations to further some partisan interests is unfair and unjust.
“We earlier had cause to raise concern about the disturbing statements emanating from some leaders of some of the socio-cultural organizations in the country.
“We did not imagine that an individual, selected to head the group will stretch the boundaries of decency to use its platform to express his partisan opinions without clearance from the larger group.
“The timely denial by the ACF as a body has therefore restored the prestige of the organization which is duly recognized as the umbrella body of all Northerners.”
Alkali observed that President Jonathan respects the rights and dignity of individuals and constituent groups and will always be comfortable if they use their platforms to preach peaceful co-existence rather than promote primordial acrimonies.
According to him: “We therefore commend the ACF for coming out as a body to distance themselves from this phantom endorsement. We believe that the ACF is home to Northerners belonging to all political associations in the country.”