Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has declared that any northerner seeking the presidency in 2027 is an enemy of the region, insisting that the North must support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and wait until 2031 to reclaim power.
Akume made the declaration on Saturday in Kaduna while addressing a gathering of Benue indigenes resident in the state, as the All Progressives Congress intensified its mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.
The former Benue State governor argued that the North should honour the power-rotation arrangement between the northern and southern parts of the country, warning that competing presidential ambitions could undermine national unity and the region’s political interests.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Yomi Odunuga, Akume recalled that the understanding on power rotation was reached in Kaduna as part of efforts to preserve Nigeria’s unity and territorial integrity.
“Remember that it was in this same Kaduna State that we agreed on power rotation between the North and the South. You cannot doubt the credentials of those that reached this agreement at that time, and it was done to keep this country together,” he said.
Akume added that the arrangement had helped sustain the country’s political stability, insisting that the North should not seek to return to the presidency before the completion of Tinubu’s tenure and a possible second term.
“Anybody who is from the North and running for the presidency is an enemy of the North. Don’t allow that pretender to deceive you. It is not yet our turn. The North’s turn is in 2031. Prepare to vote for Tinubu,” he declared.
Although Akume did not name the northern aspirant he was referring to in that statement, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is seeking the presidency on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, is a prominent northern politician challenging Tinubu’s re-election ambition.
Akume urged northern voters to resist what he described as attempts to place personal ambition above the collective interests of the region, warning that political divisions could weaken its influence at the national level.
He also called for unity across political, religious and ethnic lines, recalling past disagreements among Nigerian leaders and cautioning against actions that could deepen divisions.
Defending Tinubu’s record, the SGF argued that the President had demonstrated fairness in federal appointments and rejected suggestions that his administration favoured one religious group over another.
