By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
The North has declared its readiness to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, with a senior APC campaign official arguing that the President’s second-term ambition is tied to an earlier political understanding between the North and South-West.
Chief of Staff to the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, said the North-West and the wider Arewa region were prepared to reciprocate the South-West’s support for former President Muhammadu Buhari by backing Tinubu for a second term.
Aliyu, who is also Deputy Director, North-West, Tinubu Support Group (TSG), made the declaration while receiving hundreds of APC members and Tinubu supporters from Birnin Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency at his residence in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The former two-term member of the House of Representatives said the large turnout at the APC presidential campaign kick-off in Kaduna on Saturday reflected the North’s support for Tinubu’s 2027 ambition.
He described the President’s re-election as an opportunity to sustain the political understanding that paved the way for the transfer of presidential power from the North to the South-West.
“Today, we of the North-West geopolitical zone have spoken loud and clear about who we stand for. Our choice of Tinubu remains a commitment to a better Nigeria and national cohesion. Arewa will return Tinubu to Aso Rock,” Aliyu declared.
He recalled that Buhari had contested the presidency several times under different political platforms, including the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), before winning the 2015 election on the platform of the APC.
According to Aliyu, Tinubu played a significant political role in Buhari’s eventual emergence and re-election, arguing that the South-West’s support was based on an understanding that presidential power would shift to the region after Buhari’s two terms.
He said Tinubu’s emergence as President in 2023 fulfilled that arrangement and maintained that the North should reciprocate by supporting his bid to complete eight years in office.
“The South-West supported and voted for Buhari for two terms under Tinubu’s political leadership, with an understanding that the presidency would shift to the South-West after Buhari.
“That has happened, and we need to fulfil the promise by supporting and voting for Tinubu to complete his constitutionally allowed eight years in office,” he said.
Aliyu urged APC members and supporters across the North to remain peaceful, law-abiding and committed to grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.
He maintained that backing Tinubu would strengthen national unity, preserve the political understanding between the two regions and promote continuity in Nigeria’s democratic process.