The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), has cried out over voter apathy in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the group’s spokesman, while addressing newsmen in Kano, noted that observations had indicated that there was poor participation in the ongoing voter’s registration in the Northern part of the country compared to other regions.
According to CNG, the low turnout of eligible people may not be unconnected to the huge disappointment of northerners in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group opined that the outcome of party primaries, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had further made a larger percentage of northerners to care less about who would emerge winner in the 2023 election with the “monetisation” of the process.
It appealed to northerners not to be discouraged by the turnout of events in the country but to obtain their “Permanent Voters’ Cards as the only sure way of ensuring leadership that will address our limitations.”
CNG also enjoined northern voters to go for candidates with pronounced credibility, competence, capacity and with the antecedent of expressly identifying with their problems around security, the economy and education.
The group demanded for a thorough investigation into whether election funding in recent primary elections by parties followed the prescribed protocols in the Electoral Act.