The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and influential leaders from the northern region have decisively dismissed the proposal put forth by Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to postpone the North’s presidential ambitions until 2031. They emphasized that the region will not be pressured into re-electing President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Ganduje made his claims during a meeting with representatives from the Tinubu Media Centre and the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum at the APC national headquarters in Abuja. He argued that since a northern president, Muhammadu Buhari, completed two terms, it is only fair that Tinubu serves an equivalent term.
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However, the ACF and other political figures from the North decisively dismissed this rationale. ACF National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, stated that Ganduje’s remarks reveal a “cult-like” approach to the presidency that demands unquestioning loyalty. He emphasized that voters cannot be manipulated. “His comments are merely his opinion, and it is the voters who ultimately decide how to respond. In 2015, we were misled by the promise of anti-corruption and other commitments that have since proved empty. The ‘Renewed Hope’ of 2023 is swiftly turning into a nightmare,” Muhammad-Baba said.
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai also expressed skepticism about Tinubu’s future, warning in a post on X, “2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters are playing with fire – Part 1.” He highlighted the sharp decline in Tinubu’s standing with the North in less than two years of his presidency, cautioning that he risks a fate akin to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who lost his bid for re-election in 2015.
