Tinubu’s reelection: ACF, others tackle Ganduje over no-vacancy comment

According to the Arewa Consultative Forum, a pro-North social-political group, and certain well-known northern speakers, the area cannot be compelled to re-elect President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Abdullahi Ganduje, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, was incorrect to ask the North to wait until 2031 before running for president, according to the ACF and other northern leaders, who stated that no one could legitimately claim to be the spokesperson for the North.

As they spoke, Ganduje warned northern leaders who were considering running for president in 2027 to put the idea out of their minds and promised that Tinubu would serve two terms.

When Ganduje hosted a team from the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre at the party's national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, he made the claim.

After a fellow Northerner was given the opportunity to complete his eight-year term, he said it would be unjust to deny Tinubu the opportunity to be re-elected.

By making sure that the North-South sharing formula is properly followed, the APC National Chairman promised that the party would fervently adhere to the zoning procedure.

"When a leader from the north of this country held office for eight years, we pushed for our party's next president to be from the south," Ganduje stated. Fortunately, we put in a lot of effort with the help of Nigerians.

“Our president has come from the south and is going, Insha Allah, for a second term come 2027. And after that, it will be the turn of the northern part of this country.”

But a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, shared an opinion by one Uche Diala, a member of the APC, who warned that if care is not taken President Tinubu may be given the ‘Goodluck Jonathan treatment’ ahead of the next presidential election.

El-Rufai shared on verified X handle, the opinion titled, ‘2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1.’

The post asserted that the relationship between Tinubu and the North had deteriorated less than two years into his administration.

El-Rufai has been attacking the ruling party and the policies of the Tinubu government, even as political gladiators across the party lines continued to mull the idea of floating a coalition capable of defeating the APC.

The Arewa Consultative Forum rejected Ganduje’s call, stressing that the North cannot afford to wait till 2031 for Presidency.

Speaking with our correspondent, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, asserted that Ganduje’s comment is a reflection of the cult-like nature of the presidency, where allegiance to the president is paramount.

“Given the nature of the Presidency, it has become something like a cult; a personality cult and allegiance to the president because it looks like the president wants total allegiance and nothing else.

“We are in the season of politics and you should expect that those who are near the corridors of power should express those things. But it’s not constitutional,” Muhammad-Baba said.
He stressed that voters are free to accept, reject, or change Ganduje's viewpoint and that they cannot be coerced into doing so.

"What Ganduje said is nothing new. So many others have stated this in the past. Northerners should forget about it till 2031, according to Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who made the same statement not long ago.

"Neither he nor party members can coerce voters." Therefore, what he said was his personal view, and it is up to the voters to accept, reject, or change it. Voters, in my opinion, are become more astute about the president's background. We were sold an anti-corruption dummy in 2015.

"People have realised that the dummy of many things we were offered was untrue. Naturally, the Renewed optimism followed in 2023, and now the optimism is becoming a nightmare. I believe and hope that President Bola Tinubu's policies and their effects on the populace will be what sell him, not whether he runs for office. "All right," he said, "if they purchase it.

Mallam Salihu Lukman, a former APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), endorsed the former Federal Capital Territory Minister.

"El-Rufai is not saying anything different from what I have been saying all these while," he said. The only difference is that he is talking for the North while I talk for the whole country.”

Also, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has declared once again that he remains the right candidate for President in the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to Ganduje’s admonition for the North to wait till 2031 for Tinubu to finish his second term before aspiring for the Presidency, Mohammed, who spoke through his Commissioner for Natural Resources Development, Maiwada Bello, described Ganduje’s comment as silly.

Bello urged the youths to rally around Governor Mohammed, saying that he had set a national precedent by appointing more youths into key positions in government than any other governor in Nigeria.

The commissioner said the Bauchi governor’s bold move underscores his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment and inclusive governance, adding that he deserves the collective support of the Nigerian populace to propel him to the country’s highest political office in 2027.

He said, “We are committed to building a government that reflects the energy and innovation of the youth. No other administration in the country has given young people as many opportunities to serve in high-level positions as my administration.”

In an interview, a former ally-turned-foe of the President Tinubu, Babachir Lawal, affirmed that the North can never forgive Tinubu over the manner he allegedly brought suffering to the region through his nail-biting reforms.

The former SGF reiterated El-Rufai’s warning that the North is massively mobilising its people ahead of the 2027 polls.

He stated, “The North is seriously mobilising with a consensus that Bola Tinubu must give way in the 2027 election. This is no doubt about the consensus. There’s no argument about that. I may not have been supporting El-Rufai’s position. But on this one, I will join him to see how we can stop Bola Tinubu from winning the 2027 election. Because if he does win, you know there will be one large refugee camp.’

Thus, there is that agreement. Everyone is aware that northern Nigeria would turn into a single, sizable refugee camp if these practices are maintained for an additional four years. Therefore, everyone agrees that we need to choose a different candidate for the sole sake of self-preservation.

Babachir stated that the candidate's state of origin is irrelevant, emphasising that what matters is that the candidate comprehends the necessity of a single Nigeria.

He went on, "Now, that's where a lot of people believe that finding someone who is patriotic and views Nigeria as one, whether they're from the North or the South, is only appropriate. While some argue that we cannot risk bringing a Southerner for the sole sake of self-preservation, others want it to come from the South. Thus, the divergence lies there.

However, we all concur that we need to find someone to replace Bola Tinubu. Regretfully, many of the northerners who directly benefit from this government, including Ganduje, are only annoyances. These individuals are speaking in order to defend their places inside this rogue administration. They're defending their position because they don't care what the other parts of northern Nigeria are going through.

“So, if we can get a good southerner that can rule with equity, we are okay. It’s not actually about the elite consensus. It’s about the masses and what they are saying at the bottom. Even if some elite pretend to be supporting Bola, they will not vote for him because they are the ones at the receiving end of this thing. They are also the ones directing us, political elites of northern origin, to make sure this man doesn’t have a second chance.”

Commenting on the development, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain and lawmaker representing Benue South Senatorial District, Abba Moro, also observed that what is playing out is an alignment of forces ahead of the electoral contest.

Moro also noted that El-Rufai and Ganduje’s remarks smacked of political alignment

He said, “There are several fireworks that are going on in the political firmament at the moment. These are attempts at alignment and realignment. Ambitions are on display and people are expressing sentiments in line with their ambitions.

“My take is that with time, the picture will become clearer as to the direction of things takes shape. Nigerians will make up their minds as to where to go. Don’t forget that this present government is barely a year and a few months old.”

However, taking a different position on the matter, a former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, submitted that El-Rufai and Ganduje do not speak for the North.

He said, “There is nothing controversial about the statements of the two. This is because none of the two people you have mentioned speaks for the North in so far as partisan politics is concerned. This is because the North can be united politically on issues of real concern to northerners but when it comes to partisan politics, the North does not a