This is contained in a statement by Mr Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja.
Atiku, also a former Vice President of Nigeria, according to Ibe made the remarks when he featured as a guest of the Arewa Joint Committee interactive sessions with various presidential candidates of political parties on Saturday in Kaduna.
He also said that the credential of national inclusivity, not ethnicity should be an ideal that the Northern part of the country should examine in electing a new president for the country in the 2023 elections.
He noted that with a political career spanning more than three decades, he stood shoulder high as a Northerner who built bridges of unity across the country.
“I have been in politics for more than three decades and I am a Northerner. So, if you ask me why I am the best candidate to lead Nigeria in 2023, I will simply say that what Nigeria needs is a pan-Nigerian president, not whether he is Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa-Fulani.”
Delivering his speech at the event, he highlighted the key policy agendas which he intended to pursue if elected president to include promoting national unity through deliberate actions that would secure mutual trust and confidence among all tendencies.
The other policy areas that he enumerated were reforms in education, agriculture and reversing the economic downturn of the country.
According to Ibe, the session, which took place at the Arewa House, was attended by high ranking leaders of various North based socio-cultural bodies.