Prominent northern leaders, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), have rejected the call by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, for the North to wait until 2031 before contesting the presidency, asserting that the region cannot be coerced into supporting President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027.
Ganduje made the appeal during a meeting with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre and the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, arguing that since former President Muhammadu Buhari, from the North, served two terms, fairness demanded that Tinubu, from the South-West, should also complete two terms in office.
However, the ACF and other northern political figures swiftly dismissed the call. Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, criticized Ganduje’s remarks, describing them as indicative of a “cult-like” political atmosphere where blind loyalty is expected.
“Voters cannot be influenced by force. What he said is merely an opinion, and it is up to the electorate to endorse, reject, or modify it,” Muhammad-Baba said. He further noted the growing disillusionment with the APC, recalling how promises of anti-corruption and progress in 2015 and 2023 had left many Nigerians disappointed. “The Renewed Hope agenda is fast turning into a nightmare,” he added.
Adding to the dissent, former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, expressed skepticism about Tinubu’s re-election prospects. In a post on his verified X handle, El-Rufai shared an article titled “2027: South West, Tinubu’s Supporters Playing with Fire – Part 1,” warning that Tinubu’s deteriorating relationship with the North could mirror the fate of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who lost his re-election bid in 2015.
As political tensions rise, the 2027 presidential race is shaping up to be highly contested, with northern leaders signaling that they will not be sidelined in the country’s political future.
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