Powerful northern sociocultural group, the Arewa Consultative Forum has distance itself from a last Saturday marathon meeting held in Kaduna by 18 northern groups.
In the communiqué released after the meeting and signed by representatives of the 18 powerful groups including purported representatives of the ACF, Prof Ango Abdullahi and Ambassador Ibrahim Mai Sule, they declined to endorse any Northern presidential candidate, saying that all northern politicians had disappointed the region.
They also said they were searching for a credible replacement for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.
But in a statement, the ACF distanced itself from the people who claimed to have represented the group at the meeting, which held at the Arewa House in Kaduna.
The Thursday statement signed by the ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Biu, read, “The attention of the Arewa Consultative Forum has been drawn to the communique of the Northern Groups Summit held at the Arewa House , Kaduna , on Saturday , March 24, 2018 where the ACF was said to be a signatory to the communique .
“ For the avoidance of doubt , the ACF would want to state clearly that it was never involved in the preparation nor participated in the said summit of that group and did not mandate any of its members to represent the forum.
“ The ACF acknowledges the right of the individuals or groups to freedom of association as enshrined in our constitution . Any member who claimed to have represented the ACF or signed on behalf of the forum did so on his own . ”