Leadership of the Nigerian youths from the northern part of the country at the weekend, berated religious leaders across the country for their negative comments against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his appointment and placements of political office holders in his administration.
With particular reference to those religious leaders, who have been using criticising Tinubu for not appointing members of their faith to occupy positions in his administration, the youth leaders under the aegis of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), an umbrella body of the 42 northern youths groups said the religious leaders must desist from considering religion as a yardstick for appointments in the country.
At a press conference addressed yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the national president of the forum, Comrade Elliot Afiyo, appealed to all Nigerians, particularly those affected religious leaders to desist from writing and posting disparaging comments against Tinubu and Nigeria in the interest of the common man on the streets.
The NYLF leader also called on the security operatives, the president, as well as other members of his administration to move and urgently curtail the “ugly situation” which said is capable of polluting minds of the Northern youths in the rural areas that constituted a 70 percent of the northern population.
“We sincerely frown at the negative propaganda going on against the administration of President Tinubu by some religious leaders, especially in the northern part of the country. Though religion has unfortunately become a part of our ways of life and thinking, it should however, not be considered as yardstick for appointments and placements as some religious leaders are trying to paint it”.
“It is unfortunate that some of the religious leaders; about three sects, are saying that Abuja belongs to the North and I wonder how Abuja belongs to the North, when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was in Lagos, we had the Northern Ribadu who was administrator of Lagos State. If you claim that Abuja belongs to the North and northerner must be the minister, how many northern votes did you get for the APC in Abuja?”