Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) as well as other prominent northern figures have dismissed calls by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, asking for northern support for President Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Ganduje also said that the North should wait until 2031 before seeking president position.
The ACF and other northern voices however maintain that the region cannot be forced to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, stressing that no single individual could dictate the political direction of the North.
Ganduje had made this statement on Tuesday, while receiving a delegation from the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre and the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
His warning of northern politicians nursing presidential ambitions for 2027 to drop the idea, emphasizing that Tinubu must complete two terms in office elicited reactions from the North.
Ganduje’s position is that just as former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner completed eight years in office, Tinubu should be allowed to do so too.
However, former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai appeared to question Ganduje’s position, sharing a post on his verified X handle titled: “2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1.”
The post suggested that the North’s relationship with Tinubu has deteriorated within two years, and if care is not taken, Tinubu may suffer the same fate as former President Goodluck Jonathan, who lost re-election in 2015 due to dwindling support from key political blocs.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) also rejected Ganduje’s call, stating that the North cannot be coerced into supporting Tinubu in 2027.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Tukur Muhammad-Baba who spoke to Punch said Ganduje’s position resembles a cult like allegiance rather than a democratic choice.
He emphasised that voters cannot be influenced by force, saying it is up to them to endorse, reject, or modify Ganduje’s opinion.
“There’s nothing new in what Ganduje said. So many people have said so before. Not too long ago, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume said the same thing that northerners should forget about it until 2031.
“He or she or party members cannot influence voters by force. So, what he said was an opinion and his personal opinion and it’s up to the voters to endorse, reject or modify what he said. I think voters are becoming wise as to where the president comes from. In 2015, we were sold a dummy of anti-corruption.
“We were sold a dummy of many things and people have realized that it wasn’t true. Then, of course, the Renewed Hope came in 2023 and the hope is turning into a nightmare. What will sell President Bola Tinubu, I think and I hope, is not whether he will contest or not, it will be his policies and their impact on the people. If they buy it, fine,” he noted.
A former APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Salihu Lukman, in an interview with Punch, also supported the former Governor of Kaduna State.
He said, “El-Rufai is not saying anything different from what I have been saying all these while. The only difference is that he is talking for the North while I talk for the whole country.”
