Elder statesman Alhaji Tanko Yakassai has cautioned that the North alone cannot determine the outcome of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, stressing that electing a president is a national responsibility requiring broad-based support.
Yakassai, 99, made the remark in response to comments by Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, who stated that the North would soon declare its position on the next presidential election and that no candidate could win without Northern backing.
Speaking in Abuja, Yakassai acknowledged the North’s electoral strength but insisted it was not sufficient on its own. “The presidential election is a national affair. The North alone cannot determine who becomes president; neither can the South. Both must unite behind a formidable candidate with popularity and financial capacity,” he said.
Yakassai, a founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), added that while regional influence matters, other key factors such as national acceptability and stakeholder support are crucial. “Everyone with a voter’s card has a role to play. It’s not about North versus South,” he said.
Backing Yakassai’s position, ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Mohammed Baba, distanced the group from Baba-Ahmed’s comments, describing them as personal opinions. “No region can produce a president alone under our constitutional requirements. ACF has no control over electoral outcomes. It is the electorate, if allowed to vote freely, who will decide,” he stated.
Concerns Grow Over Electoral Integrity, Civic Space, and Poverty
Meanwhile, stakeholders at a policy dialogue in Abuja have raised alarms over Nigeria’s declining electoral integrity, shrinking civic space, and worsening poverty.
At the two-day event themed “Nigeria’s Triple Challenge: Civic Space, Poverty, and Electoral Integrity,” convened by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD) and Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), participants warned that democratic processes were increasingly being compromised.
Executive Director of Centre LSD, Mr. Monday Osasah, said, “With 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty, coupled with rising civic restrictions and electoral manipulation, urgent, coordinated responses are needed to protect democracy.”
He noted that the event aimed to review research, gather stakeholder perspectives, and develop policy frameworks to tackle these challenges.
Alhaji Sani Jabbi, District Head of Gagi in Sokoto State, emphasized the importance of security in ensuring credible elections. “When insecurity denies communities the opportunity to vote, it undermines justice and democracy,” he said.
WRAPA Secretary General, Saudatu Mahdi, echoed the urgency for collective action, saying the event served as a call to confront systemic poverty, civic repression, and electoral flaws ahead of the 2027 polls.
Edited by Nzubechukwu Eze.
