From Uthman Abubakar
As the country glides fast towards the 2027 general selections, a novel sociopolitical group called Nigeria Forward (NF) emerged in Abuja last Friday, urging Northern politicians to uphold the standing North-South power shift arrangement by supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The Co-Convener of the group, Kano State Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, said the NF, which draws membership across the country, recalls that since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, the North- South power rotation has been maintained between the two regions with a view to fostering national unity and even development across the country.
The group therefore urged political stakeholders in Northern Nigeria to respect the principle of power rotation and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from the South, to complete the eight-year presidential tenure before the North seeks to reclaim power.
The NF Co-coverner said returning the presidency to the North after only one term would undermine the principle of power rotation and risk reopening sectional tensions that have historically shaped Nigeria’s presidential politics.
Waiya argued that the North should not seek to claim presidency in 2027 after only four years of the current administration, insisting that allowing Tinubu to complete the eight years would provide political continuity and give his government time to consolidate its policies, programmes and projects initiated for the overall progress and developmentof Nigeria. .
He urged Northern political stakeholders to place the broader principle of national balance above immediate electoral calculations, saying Nigerians should focus on governance and development rather than allowing the 2027 contest to revive sectional divisions.
According to Waiya, the Tinubu administration inherited enormous economic and security challenges in 2023 and had since introduced measures which, were putting the country on a different trajectory.
The NF henchman cited local government autonomy, increased financial resources accruing to sub-national governments and moves towards establishing state police structures as reforms that could strengthen governance and security.
He, however, cautioned against reducing the challenges of Northern Nigeria to presidential politics, arguing that tackling poverty required the participation of citizens, state and local governments and other stakeholders. “Democracy is a social contract” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology and co-convener of the movement, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, said the Federal Government’s reforms were designed to move Nigeria from infrastructure and connectivity to production, jobs and prosperity.
Udeh described the administration’s development trajectory as “reform to infrastructure, infrastructure to connectivity, connectivity to production, production to jobs and jobs to prosperity,” and called on Nigerians to support Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 to consolidate the reforms.
He urged Nigeria Forward members to make evidence, inclusiveness, innovation and national unity the foundation of their activities, saying the platform’s message of “Together We Move Nigeria Forward” should translate into a commitment to service, citizenship and national development. ENDS
