The statement by the Northern elders reads:

"Two of the conditions we gave Buhari upon his assumption of office were
that he should take concrete steps to address the abject poverty and
underdevelopment in the North and he has woefully failed to marginally
address any of them.
"Assuming that things are working in the North or in Nigeria as a whole, we
would have taken a different position but everyone can see that things are
not working under this government. Perhaps, as a prelude to where this
government has taken this country, Buhari wasted six months before being
able to set up his cabinet.
"And when he eventually formed the cabinet, he brought in persons who had
not added any value to governance and his wife has vindicated us on this.
"As things stand today, we in the NEF do not believe that Nigeria's cause
will be helped by Buhari's re-election in 2019. That is why we have decided
to pick one of the other presidential candidates from the North for next
year's contest.
"It would be futile for anyone to blame anybody for the decision of the NEF
against Buhari because his own wife has openly alluded to our position that
some persons, who do not have the interest of Nigeria at heart, are running
the Buhari administration without adding real value to the governance of
Nigeria".

- Professor Ango Abdullahi
The Convener of the Northern Elders' Forum (NEF)