2027: Arewa youth oppose power shift to north, back Tinubu’s second term bid
The Arewa Youth Assembly has declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, Mohammed Sanni, the group’s spokesperson, said the presidency should remain in the south until 2031 in line with the country’s power rotation arrangement.
Sanni alleged that some governors are plotting to destabilise the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to frustrate Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
Last week, the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) was thrown into chaos after members allegedly split into rival camps, with one loyal to Hope Uzodimma of Imo and the other to Dapo Abiodun of Ogun.
Sanni said the plan to remove Uzodimma as the forum’s chairman is akin to the crisis that preceded the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
“While we admit that anyone — be he governor, senator or ordinary Nigerian — has a right to exercise his democratic rights, we know what would happen should we experience a situation where power will return to the north in 2027, as against the orderly rotation agreement, which means that the south will complete its tenure by 2031,” Sanni said.
“In a replay of the script of what happened in the run-up to the 2015 election, these enemies of Tinubu and Nigeria want to use the Progressive Governors Forum to launch their assault on our democracy.
“If you recall, the problem President Jonathan encountered, which cost him the presidency, started with the division of the Governors Forum headed by then Governor of Rivers state, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi.”
Sanni said the scheme to “destabilise” the PGF and create a parallel leadership failed because most governors rallied behind Uzodimma.
“We are also happy that the majority of these governors are from the northern part of the country, which is a confirmation that we want to honour the rotation agreement by ensuring that President Tinubu completes his two terms before power reverts to the north in 2031,” he said.
Sanni asked Abiodun and Peter Mbah, the governor of Enugu, to apologise to Tinubu, the PGF, Uzodimma and the APC over the “aborted palace coup”.
Sanni called on the houses of assembly of Ogun and Enugu to begin impeachment proceedings against Mbah and Abiodun for allegedly instigating a crisis in the APC.
