2007: Arewa Youth Forum Backs Donald Duke

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=56887

Arewa Democratic Youth Forum have described Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State as the best and suitable presidential candidate from the South-south, for the 2007 election.
Secretary-General of the group, Mallam Salim Abdullah, said at the weekend in Abuja, that  the forum carried out an assessment study of all those aspiring to lead the country next year, and concluded that Duke fits the bill.
According to a statement signed by Abdullah, “our assessment was based on the main fact that we are in total support of power shift to the South-south, coupled with the fact that we are strongly in support of generational change and Duke is a bridge builder,” Abdullah said, adding that the forum, which is a coalition of youth associations from the 19 northern states and the FCT, was proud of Duke’s record of achievement as governor. 
“He is one state Chief Executive we can confidently say has done creditably well in terms of performance in office.”
The Forum said this time around, Nigeria needs a young, vibrant and resourceful person as President, to catapult her to the next level of socio-political and economic development.
While noting that  Duke had received N126 billion from the Federation Account which places the state in the bottom of the table of states in the Niger Delta, it said “we are proud to announce that this young man has utilised the money judiciously, we were in Cross River State, we saw the happiness on the faces of the people. Duke invested heavily in Tourism and Agriculture, there is Tinapa which is so far the biggest project embarked upon by a state government in the whole country.”
They expressed optimism that Duke, if given the opportunity, will sustain the economic reforms of President Olusegun Obasanjo, and sustain the current fight against corruption.
“We also wish to use this medium to call on the people of South-south, particularly the wise men saddled with the  task of picking candidates, to throw sentiment aside and endorse Duke for the 2007 Presidential race.
“We caution that only the best should be selected, because if power eventually shifts to the South-south and a lame duck or corrupt person from the zone is picked, future generations will not forgive South-south elders,” the Forum said.

Revolution: I remain convinced that Donald Duke is the next president of Nigeria. Any comments?

after reading the above, my feelings moved from one emotion to the other. at first, i was stunned, then incredulous, then happy and finally reason began to seep through and my happiness was short-lived. if indeed the above story is true then be sure to expect a disclaimer from some quarters ASAP.

i imagine someone will come up to say either the secretary general has been paid to come up with such or he is clearly on his own or even worse, the statement was forged or something.
i wait for the inevitable denials, attacks and counter-attacks that is bound to follow this. this is nigeria after all.

***sighs deeply and wished that things could be different, that tribal sentiments could be put aside for once***