Abandoning Tinubu has long-term political implications for the north, ex-Jigawa rep Aliyu warns

From Mohammed Abubakar, Dutse

A prominent figure in the Tinubu Support Group (TSG) from Jigawa State, Dr Magaji Da’u Aliyu, has warned that denying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu re-election in the 2027 general elections would have serious consequences for the political marriage between the north and the south.

Speaking while interacting with hundreds of APC members and Tinubu supporters from Birnin Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency, who paid him a solidarity visit at his residence in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area, the Deputy Director-General (North-West) of the TSG said voting for Tinubu was the only way the region could demonstrate its much-talked-about fidelity to accords.

Aliyu, a former two-term lawmaker from the constituency who is the Chief of Staff in the APC’s National Presidential Campaign Council, pointed to Tinubu’s contributions, not only to the realisation of the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s ambition, but also to the fact that the north was currently benefiting massively from Tinubu’s economic reforms, especially with regard to food security.

He maintained that the massive turnout of APC supporters who converged on Kaduna during the presidential campaign kick-off last Saturday was a demonstration of the north’s commitment to supporting the president’s re-election ambition.

According to him, “The massive turnout in Kaduna shows where the North stands. Today, we of the North-West geopolitical zone have spoken loud and clear about who we stand for. Therefore our choice of Tinubu remains a commitment to a better Nigeria and national cohesion. Arewa will return Tinubu to Aso Rock.”

Aliyu, who was a state chieftain of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the merger parties that formed the APC in 2014, took his listeners through how the late Buhari contested the presidency several times under different political platforms before eventually winning under the APC with Tinubu’s political support.

He argued that the South-West had supported Buhari’s two presidential terms based on an understanding that power would subsequently shift to the South-West.

According to him, Tinubu’s emergence as president after Buhari represents the fulfilment of that political arrangement, which the North should reciprocate by supporting his re-election.

“The South-West supported and voted for Buhari for two terms under Tinubu’s political leadership, with an understanding that the presidency would shift to the South-West after Buhari.

“That has happened, and we need to fulfil the promise by supporting and voting for Tinubu to complete his constitutionally allowed eight years in office,” he said.

The TSG deputy director urged APC members and supporters across the north to remain peaceful, law-abiding and committed to mobilising voters for the president’s re-election.

He said supporting Tinubu in 2027 would strengthen national unity, honour the political understanding between the two regions and promote the sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy, adding that doing anything to the contrary would destroy the north’s acclaimed reputation for keeping agreements.

He, therefore, expressed hope that the region would vote massively to return Tinubu to Aso Rock, describing the president’s re-election as the fulfilment of an earlier political understanding between the north and the South-West.

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