The Forum of Former Southern Legislators, on Saturday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, adopted President Bola Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The forum, under the chairmanship of Senator Ken Nnamani, made their position known in a communique issued at the end of its Summit of Former Legislators 2025, held in the Gateway State.
Signed by the chairman of the Communique Drafting Committee, Hon. R. Osagie; chairman of the Former Legislators’ Southern Caucus, Hon. Adeyemi Oluwole and the secretary, Hon. Israel Sunny Goli, the ex-lawmakers commended the innovative reforms of President Tinubu-led Federal Government and declared that they would always align themselves with those things that seek to promote the unity, peace and prosperity of the country.
The ex-legislators listed those initiative reforms to include, among others, the establishment of Regional Development Commissions, Local Government Autonomy, Student Loans Scheme and Deregulation of the Electricity Sector, and called for greater collaboration of state governments and support of citizens alike to be able to harvest the great potentials of the reforms.
The communique read, “That as a body, we commend the patriotic courage of our colleagues of the Northern Caucus in calling for the South to complete their tenure of the leadership of the country.
“We affirm that it is the turn of the South to complete its tenure. We posit that it is in the best interest of the South and the nation that the incumbent, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, completes the tenure of the South.
“Accordingly, we adopt him as the sole candidate of the South. We call on the South to support the North in 2031 to take up their tenure for the leadership of our dear country.”
The forum called on citizens to pursue this course towards promoting national unity and the foundation of nation-building.
In their goodwill remarks, the trio of Senator Nnamani, former speakers of the House of Representatives (HoR), Yakubu Dogara and Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, applauded President Tinubu for his steadfast leadership, commitment to national development and dedication to inclusive governance.
Earlier, the national coordinator of National Forum of Former Legislators, Hon. Raphael Nnanna Igbokwe, called for greater co-operation from state governments across the country to complement Federal Government’s actions towards ensuring that those innovative reforms are sustained.
Speaking on the importance of the summit, themed, “National Unity, Bedrock of Nation Building,” Igbokwe expressed optimism that the summit would afford the lawmakers the opportunity to rise and evolve outcomes that would further unite the citizens more “and promote the peace, unity and prosperity of Nigeria.”
In his keynote address, the convener of the forum and President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff (CoS), Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the clarity of President Tinubu’s vision formed the basis for which his administration has set out from day one to tackle the most difficult reforms.
He explained that the “will to execute buttons”, which those who had ruled before President Tinubu refused to activate, were just the reform initiatives which the president is bringing to bear on the nation.
“Today, the Federal Government of Nigeria is no longer paying inflated subsidy claims that benefit only a tiny minority of our citizens. Every Nigerian child today is guaranteed a tertiary education courtesy of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).”
