In a move that could carry real weight heading into the 2027 elections, Nigeria’s first-term governors have come out firmly behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, throwing their support behind a second term and urging Nigerians to hold steady despite the tough economic road the country’s been on.
Meeting in Kebbi State, the governors made clear this wasn’t about party politics as usual. Their position is that Tinubu’s reforms — however painful in the short term — are the kind of hard medicine Nigeria needs to stabilize the economy, restore some fiscal sanity, pull in investment, and set the country up for real, lasting growth.
They didn’t shy away from acknowledging the pain, either. In their communiqué, the governors admitted that Nigerians have carried a heavy burden through this period of adjustment — families, workers, farmers, traders, transporters, young people, women, and the country’s most vulnerable have all felt the squeeze. But their framing was that this is a necessary correction, the price of untangling years of fiscal mismanagement, security failures, and stalled development.
Their bottom line: Nigeria’s real choice isn’t whether the reforms have been hard — everyone agrees they have been — it’s whether to abandon the process halfway through or push forward while doing more to cushion the blow for those struggling the most. And on that question, the governors were unambiguous. They declared “total support” for Tinubu and for extending the Renewed Hope Agenda well beyond 2027, arguing that Nigeria needs steady leadership, policy consistency, and tighter coordination between Abuja and the states if any of this is going to pay off long-term.
Security was just as high on their agenda. The governors didn’t mince words about the threat posed by kidnappings, school abductions, terrorism, and banditry, condemning attacks on schools and the killing of innocent, defenseless citizens in the strongest terms. They committed to working more closely with the Federal Government, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and school authorities — better intelligence, stronger school protection, faster rescues, and real accountability for perpetrators.
The conversation also stretched beyond Nigeria’s borders. The governors condemned reports of attacks, killings, and xenophobic violence against Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa. While careful to acknowledge South Africa’s sovereignty and the long history between the two nations, they pushed for transparent investigations into the incidents and called on South African authorities to protect law-abiding Nigerians living there. They also asked Nigerians — both at home and abroad — to stay calm and let diplomatic efforts run their course rather than escalating tensions.
Looking ahead to their own re-election bids, the governors made a point of saying their campaigns would be built on results, not rhetoric. They promised sharper focus on agriculture and food security, education, healthcare, rural infrastructure, empowering youth and women, energy access, job creation, revenue growth, and attracting investment — essentially, making sure federal-level reforms actually show up as real improvement at the community level.
They also praised Tinubu for what they called tough but necessary calls, especially his willingness to keep engaging directly with state governments and give them more room to shape national development. At the same time, they didn’t let the Federal Government entirely off the hook — pressing for deeper intervention to ease the hardship Nigerians are facing, particularly around food production, transport, energy, social safety nets, small business support, and security.
The communiqué wrapped up with an appeal for national unity, framing Nigeria’s challenges as bigger than any single election cycle — a shared responsibility to protect democracy, secure communities, create jobs, and make sure the sacrifices being made now actually pay off for the generations coming after.
