Former Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said the North should not challenge President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027, stressing that doing so would violate the gentleman’s agreement on power rotation and create unnecessary problems for the region.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Aliyu cautioned that northern presidential aspirants, especially those on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), were working against regional stability.
I have heard many of the presidential aspirants (in ADC) already saying they will serve one term,” he said. “If a northerner says he’s serving one term, what problem is he creating for the north?”
He argued that the South deserves the same political tolerance the North enjoyed during the eight-year administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
“If we could tolerate the late Muhammadu Buhari for eight years, oh my God, let’s try it… maybe by 2031, we can jettison the arrangement if we find it convenient,” he said.
Aliyu also hinted that more intense political realignments may happen after 2027, noting that the current wave of defections is mostly at the legislative and gubernatorial levels.
“For now, only governors and lawmakers are defecting. By 2031, you may end up with a presidential defection. Is that not a constitutional issue?” he said.
He concluded by saying that the outcome of the 2027 election would depend on how political dynamics unfold in the next year and a half.
“So, for me, who will win the election will depend on what happens in the next one and a half years.
“And that is to say, if the government can correct some of the observable anomalies, I don’t see a problem,” he stated.
Regarding the possibility of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu, Aliyu urged opposition parties to provide viable alternatives to the current leadership.
“My argument has always been, what is the alternative? What is it if you want to remove this or that government or that governor or that president? What is the alternative that you’re offering to the people?” he queried.
