According to Atiku, the statement which he made during an interactive session with northern groups under the aegis of the Arewa Joint Committee, was taken out of context and propagated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ruling party had knocked Atiku, saying his request to the northern people exposed his “mindless desperation” for power.
The former vice president during the townhall held on Saturday in Kaduna said the northern people do not “need a Yoruba candidate, or an Igbo candidate” and should therefore vote for him because he is “a pan-Nigerian of northern origin.”
But following outrage from some Nigerians, Atiku has attempted to limit the damaging effects of his comment through a statement issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday night.
Ibe said, “For the benefit of the innocent public who might be hoodwinked by the usual behavior of APC in telling a big lie, what transpired was a direct question to Atiku to address the Northern audience on why he should be voted for by the Northern electorate.
“In answering this question, Atiku started with a joke by addressing the questioner as ‘Mr. Northerner’ which is a veiled criticism of why he limited his question to the Northern audience in the first place.
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