Presidency Must Remain In South, Says Northern Group

Ahead of the 2027 general election, Northern leaders, under the aegis of the Northern Bridge Builders Forum, said on Wednesday that the presidency must remain in the South.

The Northern leaders noted that the North had just completed eight years under the late President Muhammadu Buhari. They stated that people with conscience will not support any move to have another Northerner as president come 2027.

Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during their visit to the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation (Afenifere), Pa Reuben Fasoranti, they threw their weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

The delegation, led by Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya from Taraba State, which visited Fasoranti and members of Afenifere, assured that the North would perform better in the next presidential election than in 2023.

He said, “We are supporting President Tinubu because, you know, Nigeria belongs to all of us. Secondly, we believe in the unity of this country. The North has just spent eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari. President Tinubu has just served 2 years and some months. For us to agitate that we should continue again, people with a conscience will not support that.

So, we are men of conscience. That’s why we believe that the Southern part of this country should retain the seat come 2027.”

While noting that President Tinubu has performed creditably to earn their support, the Forum said, “We have seen from the beginning of this administration the economic policies that were put in place when the President started.

“Our economy is not like it was before. Previously, if you wanted to travel and needed to get dollars, there was a lot of manipulation. We have seen his sacrifice, and we say we must support him to continue.”

Responding on behalf of the Afenifere leader, the Chairman of its National Executive Committee, Oba Olu Falae, appreciated the delegation for building bridges across the country to stabilise Nigeria.

Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and a traditional ruler, said, “I am thrilled that bridge builders, those promoters of unity, are here. There are about 448 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, and every ethnic nationality, no matter how small, has a right to whatever the country offers. That is what bridge building must pursue.”

The Afenifere leader added, “No tribe is too small to be ignored. So, I am happy that we are building bridges from the North to the South. That is the only way Nigeria can survive and thrive as a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic country.’’