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NORTHERN EX-LAWMAKERS SPLIT OVER TINUBU’S 2027 RE-ELECTION BID
Former federal lawmakers from northern Nigeria are divided over President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid following an endorsement by the Northern Caucus Forum of the 9th National Assembly.
The caucus, in a communiqué issued after a dialogue session convened by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, threw its weight behind Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, described Tinubu as a “national leader committed to equitable development across all regions of Nigeria,” urging the forum to rally behind him.
“President Tinubu is not just a southern leader; he is a national leader who has carried every region along. From critical infrastructure to policy reforms, the North is benefiting from a government that believes in equity and shared prosperity,” Gbajabiamila said.
The forum, coordinated by Rufai Chanchangi of the 8th House of Representatives, said its support for Tinubu was rooted in equity and the need for political stability.
“We believe in equity, fairness, and political stability. It is in the best interest of the North and Nigeria as a whole that the South completes its turn in the power rotation. We, therefore, endorse the continuation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership beyond 2027,” the communiqué read.
Chairman of the National Forum of Former Legislators, Nnanna Igbokwe, hailed the resolution as “a significant statement of statesmanship,” expressing confidence that more regions would adopt the same stance.
However, another group of former northern legislators has rejected the endorsement, describing the meeting as “politically motivated and unrepresentative of the region’s true sentiment.”
In a statement titled “We Can’t All Be Commodified”, the group under the aegis of Concerned Former Members of the House of Representatives, Northern Nigeria, insisted that the caucus lacked the mandate to speak for all northern ex-lawmakers.
The statement, jointly signed by Zakari Mohammed, Aminu Shagari, Tom Zakari, and Mohammed Musa Soba, criticised the endorsement as a staged political show.
Mohammed said the Chanchangi group was deceived into endorsing Tinubu for a second term.
The statement reads, “We categorically state that this group does not speak for all former northern legislators, and the positions outlined in their communiqué are neither representative nor reflective of the current sentiments across northern Nigeria. At best, this forum is a political front posing as a neutral body, and should have boldly declared themselves supporters of Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
“While they indulge in coordinated praise and political posturing, the true state of northern Nigeria is one of pain, poverty, and peril. Under the current administration, poverty has intensified, leaving millions of northern families in worsening economic hardship.”
The group also criticised the Tinubu administration’s handling of insecurity, poverty, and youth unemployment in the region, listing states like Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Borno, and Benue as hotspots of continued violence and neglect.
“While they indulge in coordinated praise and political posturing, the true state of northern Nigeria is one of pain, poverty, and peril,” the rebuttal stated, describing the endorsement as a “hatchet job” aimed at securing patronage at the expense of the region’s suffering.
They further rejected any leadership claims by Chanchangi, labelling his actions self-serving and lacking legitimacy.
“We wish to clearly disassociate ourselves from Hon. Rufai Chanchangi and his co-travellers who signed the communiqué in question. They are not our spokesmen, and do not have the moral or constitutional mandate to speak on behalf of all former northern legislators. If the charade they staged in Kaduna, under the guise of a foundation associated with the revered late Sardauna of Sokoto, is their basis for legitimacy, then let it be known that such fraudulent appropriation of legacy and symbolism will never stand.
“This communique is nothing but a classic hatchet job, a desperate effort by a few to sanitise the failings of the present administration for personal favours, while the broader northern population bleeds silently.
“Let it be known: we will not be co-opted into political theatre while our people suffer. We refuse to endorse a failing system that continues to deepen the wounds of the North and the nation as a whole.
“The North deserves honesty, development, and bold leadership—not choreographed communiques masking hunger and insecurity,” the statement added.
The split in the ranks of the northern ex-lawmakers comes days after northern leaders gathered in Kaduna on Tuesday to assess the performance of President Tinubu’s administration two years after assuming office.
