The Northern Youths Movement (NYM) has described the chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) including the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, who were said to be giving the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, “false confidence rather than telling him the truth” as the former Vice-President’s enemies.

The group, who agreed with Lamido that it is uncultured to openly call an elder a liar, added that it was also against their culture for elders to lie openly.

The NYM, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Chairman, Mallam Ishaya Jato, said “age and grey hairs will only be honourable when elders stop lying openly and tell themselves the basic truth that is required of people who are desirous of fostering unity.”

The group stated that negative comments on the River State Governor, Nyesom Wike, by Lamido was becoming “distasteful and unbecoming” of an elder, who genuinely wants electoral victory for his party.

It added: “Even though we are not out to defend Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State or anyone, we are constrained to respond to Alhaji Sule Lamido’s incessant diatribe against the governor because we don’t want it to appear like he is speaking for the North and that we in the North are power arrogant.

“To us, the chances of the North retaining the presidency after 2023 is being destroyed by the likes of Alhaji Lamido, and the earlier they are called to order, the better.

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”Lying elders like those acting as Atiku’s ‘attack dogs’ are more uncultured in the face of God, law and society and they must be told to hold their peace before they cause further damages.

“This is more so that these people will be of little or no help for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in terms of votes and election funding.

“In 2011, even with Alhaji Lamido as a sitting Governor, PDP lost Jigawa State to President Mohammadu Buhari’s CPC with close to 200,000 votes. PDP had 491,252 votes while CPC had 663,994 votes.

“The same thing happened in 2015 when PDP lost in Jigawa State with over 700,000 votes. PDP had 142,904 votes while APC had 885,988 votes.

“With Atiku as PDP candidate in 2019, Alhaji Lamido still could not deliver Jigawa State to the PDP. APC got 794,738 votes as against PDP’s 289,895. In other words, PDP lost Alhaji Lamido’s Jigawa State with 504,843 votes.

“So, where is the confidence Alhaji Lamido and his likes giving Atiku coming from? Shouldn’t elders like Alhaji Lamido be reconciliatory rather than further fanning embers of discord by deliberately rubbing salt on an injury caused by people who were only driven by personal hatred for an individual, not the overall interest of the North in particular and Nigeria as a whole?” the NYM stated.

The Star