Northerners under the aegis of the Arewa Think Tank group have said they cannot obstruct President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.
The group therefore said it intends to vote for him in the upcoming presidential election, News About Nigeria reports.
Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, the convener of Arewa Think Tank, made this assertion on Monday during a press briefing following a prayer session for President Tinubu at Arewa House, Kaduna.
Yakubu said that since the North had just completed eight years in power before Tinubu’s tenure, they should not seek a return to power at this time.
Yakubu said, “Why will the North stop President Tinubu? How can the North stop him in 2027 after somebody from the North has done eight years?
“For us to have peace in this country, the North has no option—no alternative—than to vote for Tinubu for another second term so that he can do eight years as well. What North should be thinking about now is infrastructural and educational development.”
He expressed disappointment that the previous Northern leadership had failed to bring positive change to the region during its eight-year tenure.
He said, “Considering the enormity of challenges facing the North now, it does not need political power now. We must put our house in order and tell each other the bitter truth. Insecurity challenges, which we hoped that former President Muhammadu Buhari would have dealt with, got worse. That means political power has no value for the North.
“We had a Northern President who stayed in power for eight years. So there is no reason why we will not support President Tinubu for eight years. So far he has done a lot of work on infrastructures across the country. I was watching the minister of works, David Umahi saying that the Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano highways will be completed this year. This is very encouraging because the last administration in the last eight years could not fix it.
In the 2023 general election, prominent Northern candidates such as Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso contested the presidential race. It is expected that these candidates will compete again in 2027.
