Ex-Northern Govs, Other Leaders Vow To Triple Tinubu’s Votes In 2027

Ahead of the 2027 general election, prominent leaders, including former governors and present political office holders from the north have vowed to ensure that President Bola Tinubu gets triple, the number of votes he obtained from the region in the last polls.

The leaders under auspices of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A) made the vow during a meeting with the All Progressives Congress(APC) National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.

Those in attendance include former governors of Kano, Senator Ibrahim Sheakerau; Plateau, Senator Simon Lalong; Jigawa, Mohammed Badaru; Kogi, Yahaya Bello; Taraba, Jolly Nyame; Katsina, Ibrahim Shema, Senator Suleiman Kawu Sumaila(Kano Central), among others.

In his remarks, chairman of the Board of Trustees(BoT), A4A and leader of the delegation, Shekarau pledged to work with the party and its presidential campaign structures to secure more votes for President Tinubu.

He said A4A was established to complement the efforts of the APC by strengthening grassroots mobilisation, addressing voter apathy and ensuring that the party translates its political support in the North into votes at the ballot box.

“The A4A concept is an idea put together to ensure the mobilisation of the teeming population up here in the north -19 northern states and the FCT. We’re very conscious of the number of the voters in the north, which is the largest compared to our brothers up in the south,” Shekarau said.

He said the group was determined to build on the region’s numerical strength by developing strategies to increase voter turnout and improve the party’s performance in areas where it recorded weak results in previous elections.

“We will ensure that the largest number of voters are mobilised so that the number that we’ve been boasting about, the number that has always been the highest in all elections, is not only repeated but more than tripled compared to previous numbers,”Shekarau said

He said A4A has studied previous election statistics, identified areas of strength and weakness, and mapped out locations requiring targeted interventions to address low voter turnout and declining participation in the electoral process.

Shekarau acknowledged that voter apathy had become a nationwide concern since the return to democratic rule in 1999, stressing that political leaders had a responsibility to identify the causes and develop practical solutions.

“We have taken note of all the statistics. We have itemised the successes and the places of the successes in the previous election. We have identified our weak areas and the target points, flashpoints, that we will now address to identify what led to the weaknesses, what led to the very low turnout and the number of votes.

“We are very conscious of the fact that the apathy is across the country. From 1999 to date, the percentage turnout has been going down more and more and more. And those of us in the leadership in the political arena have the responsibility to identify the reasons, address them, and see how we can uplift such weaknesses,”he said.

Shekarau said A4A had also compiled information on projects, programmes and other achievements of the Tinubu administration across northern Nigeria, with plans to publicise them to counter claims that the region had been neglected by the Federal Government.

He maintained that many government interventions and ongoing projects in the North were not sufficiently known to the wider population, making it necessary for the group to improve public awareness of the administration’s activities.

The A4A leader said the group would make its catalogue of projects and programmes available to relevant stakeholders as part of efforts to strengthen public understanding of the Federal Government’s record in the region.

He also formally invited Yilwatda to the commissioning of the group’s secretariat scheduled for Saturday, disclosing that Vice-President Kashim Shettima had accepted the invitation to attend the event.

In his remarks, A4A BoT Deputy Chairman, Lalong, said the group’s formation was driven by the recognition that northern Nigeria remained a critical factor in determining electoral outcomes.

According to him, A4A was committed not only to securing victory for Tinubu but also to improving on the region’s previous electoral contributions.

Lalong said the group would deploy the experience of its members to identify weaknesses in the party’s mobilisation efforts and help address them ahead of the elections.

“We know that without the north, nobody can win election in Nigeria. That’s why we won elections with the north. What we are doing is not only winning elections, but improving on what we gave him before,” the federal lawmaker added.

In his response, Yilwatda dismissed suggestions that the north was opposed to Tinubu, pointing to the presence of former governors, legislators and other influential political figures in the group as evidence of continued support for the president.

He urged A4A to amplify its message through wider public engagement, including a proposed press conference involving prominent northern political leaders to communicate their position on Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The APC chairman further defended the administration’s record on infrastructure, arguing that several major road projects and economic initiatives in northern Nigeria demonstrated its commitment to the region.

He cited the road projects linking Kano with other parts of the North, the Sokoto–Kebbi–Kwara corridor and other ongoing developments, saying the combined length of road projects under construction or procurement in the region exceeded 3,000 kilometres.

Yilwatda also highlighted the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project, describing it as a major economic opportunity that could improve access to gas, support power generation and stimulate industrial development across northern Nigeria.

He said the project could enable state governments and private investors to develop power plants and distribution systems, while supporting businesses and industries requiring reliable energy supplies.

He said the availability of gas could also promote compressed natural gas adoption, domestic gas use and fertiliser production, creating additional opportunities for economic growth and employment in the region.

The APC chairman further urged northern communities to take advantage of the Federal Government’s student loan scheme and other interventions to expand access to education and improve opportunities for young people.

He assured the delegation that the party would work with A4A to integrate its grassroots structures into the APC’s broader electoral planning, stressing that successful campaigns required effective coordination, organisation and voter mobilisation.

Yilwatda said the party’s objective extended beyond the presidential election to include securing victories in National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly contests.

He called for stronger cooperation between the support group and party officials, expressing confidence that a coordinated strategy would improve the APC’s electoral performance in 2027.

“We as a party we are with you. We stand with you. We will support you to ensure that we win as many votes as possible in the northern part of Nigeria.

Now that you have a structure, we have to integrate you into our election planning also.

“So we will plan along with you. So we can succeed together. I will look for how we can work together to ensure that we get as many votes as possible for Mr President come 16th January, 2027,” Yilwatda stated.