NIGERIA: North Will Back Tinubu Again in 2027 — Ganduje

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has dismissed claims that northern Nigeria will withdraw its support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election, describing such assumptions as misguided.

Ganduje said the North remains firmly aligned with President Tinubu’s leadership, citing his commitment to national unity, democratic values and economic reforms.

A statement on the development emerged following a meeting held on Friday in Abuja, where Ganduje received a delegation of northern Nigeria youth leaders from the 19 northern states during a courtesy visit.

According to the statement, Ganduje said:

“There is no better candidate to govern Nigeria beyond 2027 from the southern Nigeria than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Those who are nursing or thinking otherwise that the north will vote for another candidate other than Asiwaju are making a big mistake.”

The former Kano State governor described Tinubu as a seasoned politician whose life and career have been shaped by politics and a strong belief in Nigeria’s unity.

He said: “This is the first time Nigeria as a nation is lucky to have a politician as president; his constituency is politics, his upbringing is politics because he believes in the unity of this country. In fact, he struggled; he was even in exile for democracy to survive in Nigeria.”

Ganduje also recalled a pre-2015 political understanding that power would return to the South after eight years of northern leadership under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, stressing that Tinubu has not yet completed a full term.

“Asiwaju has only been there for less than four years now, and we have seen the measures, the reforms that he undertook,” he stated.

He pointed to the removal of fuel subsidy as a defining policy decision that demonstrated Tinubu’s political courage, noting that previous administrations and other 2023 presidential candidates avoided the move.

Ganduje added: “All the candidates who contested with him in 2023 promised to remove the fuel subsidy, but nobody was bold enough to do that job.

“But Asiwaju has succeeded in removing the subsidy, and now all the state governors, irrespective of their political leaning, believe they are getting more funds for the development of their states.”

He stressed that the policy was implemented for national development rather than partisan benefit, adding that the reforms would strengthen Nigeria’s economy in the long run.

Commending the northern youth leaders for their mobilisation efforts, Ganduje praised their commitment to Tinubu’s re-election.

“There’s no better commitment than this; you are contributing funds, your brain, your energy, and your time to ensure the re-election of Asiwaju,” he said.

The forum also conferred on Ganduje the title of Grand Patron of the Northern Nigeria Youth Leaders Forum, in recognition of his role in fostering youth part

icipation in national politics.