A Northern group, the Arewa Think Tank (ATT), has described as fabricated lies the claim that the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has abandoned President Bola Tinubu and endorsed Northern presidential candidates for the 2027 elections.

The ATT asserted that the ACF could not have made such a pronouncement, as it is an apolitical socio-cultural organisation whose members do not share a common political interest.

In a statement on Thursday, the Convener of ATT, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, alleged that some media reports might have misrepresented the ACF?s position following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting last Wednesday.

?ACF is not a political organisation that can speak as an opposition party. ACF is apolitical, and all its members belong to different political parties, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). So the Forum cannot decide for political parties against President Tinubu.

?Some media reports that the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has announced its support for Northern presidential candidates in the 2027 general elections is nothing but an imaginative news story hanging on the heels of fake news.

?Not long ago, I received an invitation from a new body called the League of Northern Democrats. Attached to the invitation were seven pages listing 260 names, most of whom were former governors, senators, and known great sons and daughters from the North. I have read the objectives of the League of Northern Democrats.

?I commend the conveners of the meeting. I respect and appreciate their objectives, which, I must say, are not a deviation from those of the ACF.

?Their cause is worthy. My view is that while they tinker with the overall political issues that threaten our survival in our Region, this still remains an auspicious time to look inwards.

?To avoid being misunderstood, the progenitors of this brilliant concept should organise symposia where current travails that depress and make lives unbearable in our Region are stultifying education and economic growth.

?I have taken pains to share my thoughts here because (a) I, as ACF Chairman, was invited, and (b) within the 260 listed members are a few names of ACF members. Should their ultimate focus be for the year 2027, I humbly and respectfully recommend that their well-thought-out charities should begin now and at home,? he said.

From the ACF Chairman?s speech, Arewa Think Tank believes that the ACF?s position was misquoted in some media coverage. There is no indication from the speech that the ACF has abandoned President Tinubu regarding the 2027 presidential election. (Daily Sun)