A northern youth group, the Northern Progressive Youth Vanguard, has distanced itself from calls seeking the impeachment of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and his Enugu State counterpart, Peter Mbah, over alleged developments within the Progressive Governors Forum.
The group described the impeachment demand reportedly made by the Arewa Youth Assembly as politically motivated and unrepresentative of northern youths.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday and signed by its chairman, Alhaji Shehu Usman Jubrin, the NPYV alleged that political opponents of the two governors were using the name of northern youths to pursue personal interests.
The group urged Nigerians to ignore what it called “the shenanigans of a faceless and subversive group conjured by desperate and drowning politicians” against Abiodun and Mbah.
According to the organisation, youths across the 19 northern states were neither consulted nor involved in discussions concerning any alleged dispute within the Progressive Governors Forum.
The statement argued that the priorities of northern youths remained insecurity, poverty and other socio-economic challenges affecting the region.
“If and when Arewa youths meet, it will be to discuss insurgency, widespread poverty, insecurity and other socio-economic challenges plaguing the region, not alleged disagreements within the Progressive Governors Forum,” the statement read.
The group questioned why northern youths should be drawn into internal political matters concerning governors from another region.
“Where and when did it become our duty as northern youths to champion impeachment moves against governors from another region over internal political developments within their party?” it asked.
The NPYV further noted that the Progressive Governors Forum was an internal structure within the ruling All Progressives Congress and had its own mechanisms for resolving disputes.
“The PGF, to the best of our knowledge, is an organisation within the ruling All Progressives Congress, and it has its own internal mechanisms for handling its affairs,” the statement added.
The group maintained that northern youths should not be used as tools in partisan political battles.
“Nigerians should count Arewa youths out of any impeachment call,” it stated.
“They should disregard statements by fake and amorphous groups being used by politicians to feather their political nests.
“It is not the duty of Arewa youths to choose leaders for the PGF or meddle in its affairs. Northern youths are not jobless people.”