Poverty rate in the north is worse than it was in 2015 - Arewa youth

The president of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima, has described the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as a disappointment saying the north plans to present a more competent candidate in 2023.

Shettima who made this known in an interview with Daily Sun newspaper complained that the APC-led federal government has only favoured the southwest.

He said the north has not benefited anything from President Buhari’s presidency because many northern states are still impoverished and under developed adding that the rate of poverty in the zone has become worse than it was in 2015.

According him, ''As far as we in the North are concerned, this government favours only the southwest and that is why some of us are beginning to have a rethink that probably, after this tenure we would demand for a Northern presidency in 2023.

''The North has not benefitted anything from Buhari’s presidency because many northern states are still impoverished and under developed. The rate of poverty in the North has become worse than it was in 2015.

''We cannot beat our chest and say that this government has favoured the North. The first four years of Buhari was a waste and we cannot expect any magic to happen in his second tenure; it is not possible.

''Already some south-westerners are raising their heads to claim that it is their turn in 2023 but for us in the north, we would plead with the South to bear with us for another 12 years because we need to feel the impact of governance.

He added: ''We had an election and the expectations were high but it is very unfortunate that it is not what we expected and I am sure that Nigerians were disappointed.

''We thought that the APC will conduct a more credible election than what we had in the past, but what we saw was an election where security agencies were used against innocent Nigerians.

''The election was a battle between the voters and the military that were deployed to aid the ruling party. If you ask me if there was an election, I would say there was an attempt to conduct an election but we cannot certainly call what we just had an election.''

Recall that Legit.ng reported that President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the Chartered Institute of Training and Development of Nigeria Bill.

The president also declined assent to the Nigerian Aeronautic Research Rescue Bill. The communication from the president to the House of Representatives was read on the floor of the House by the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, at Tuesday’s plenary.