The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and other prominent northern figures have responded to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje’s call for the North to wait until 2031 before contesting the presidency.

Recall that Ganduje had said that Tinubu would contest and win the 2027 general elections before the power returns to the North.

He made this statement when he received a delegation from the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre and the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum at the APC national secretariat in Abuja.

According to Ganduje, since a northern president, Muhammadu Buhari, had completed two terms, fairness dictates that Tinubu should also serve for eight years.

The northern leaders stated that the region cannot be coerced into re-electing President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

However, the ACF and other political figures from the North rejected his call. In an interview with the media, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, dismissed Ganduje’s statement as a reflection of the presidency’s “cult-like” nature, where total allegiance is expected.

He stressed that voters cannot be influenced by force. “He or she or party members cannot influence voters by force. So, what he said was an opinion, and it’s up to the voters to endorse, reject, or modify it. In 2015, we were sold a dummy of anti-corruption. We were sold a dummy of many things, and people have realized that it wasn’t true. Then, of course, the Renewed Hope came in 2023, and the hope is turning into a nightmare,” Muhammad-Baba stated.

Former ally of President Tinubu and immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, also downplayed Tinubu’s chances in 2027.

In a post on his social media page, he titled it, “2027: South West, Tinubu’s supporters playing with fire – Part 1.”

El-Rufai pointed out that Tinubu’s relationship with the North had significantly deteriorated less than two years into his tenure, warning that he could suffer a fate similar to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who lost re-election in 2015.