Facts have emerged on why the League of Northern Democrats (LND) led by a former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, resolved to support Atiku Abubakar’s national opposition coalition seeking to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
The group consists of eminent political leaders, scholars and businessmen from Northern Nigeria.
But the decision to support the coalition came as a surprise to many Nigerians and political watchers, considering that the group’s leader, Shekarau, had some weeks ago publicly criticised the way the coalition was being structured and the process for getting members.
The former governor had predicted that the coalition would fail to unseat President Tinubu in 2027, with the way it was been arranged. But in the last few days, Shekarau has had a change of mind and aligned.
Shekarau’s move strategic ahead 2027
Sources in the Northern Nigeria who spoke to BusinessDay said Shekarau and his group may have pitched their tent with the coalition, because it is obvious they do not have any space with in the APC in Kano, especially with the full grip of the party by the Abdullahi Ganduje’s camp.
The sources said the recent defection of large number of opposition politicians to the ruling party in Kano and other states in the North had made the decision to join the Atiku’s coalition the wise decision to take.
Furthermore, many members of the LND are said to be unhappy with the deliberate move by the ruling party and the current administration to weaken the opposition parties, coerce politicians to join the APC and support the re-election bid of the President.
Majority of the LND’s members are said to be unhappy with the current administration’s performance, especially considering the worsening insecurity in the region, poverty among others.
“Shekarau move may be a strategy, you know politicians here; always consider what they would gain before making any move. In this case, Shekarau may have seen that joining the APC as a former governor he may not get the recognition he deserves with Ganduje fully in control in Kano.
“There is also news that Kwankwaso is moving to APC, if that is true, he may not want to play fiddle to the two former governors, so for them the best bet is to join Atiku’s coalition.
“It is about what they can get, but 2027 is still far, anything can still happen,” the source said.
Read also: Shekarau led LND to join coalition of opposition against Tinubu’s re-election
Northern democrats influence questioned
Meanwhile, many political analysts in Northern Nigeria have questioned the popularity of the LND in Northern Nigeria, noting that the group is relatively unknown in many parts of the country.
They, however, noted that some members of the group, just like Shekarau, may be popular in their respective states.
The analysts pointed out that the group cannot be compared to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, led by Rabiu Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Nigeria’s People’s Party (NNPP) which controlled Kano and part of Jigawa States.
Meanwhile, in a communique read by one of the conveners, Umar Ardo. The league resolved to engage the 19 Northern governors over the terrible security and economic situation in the region.
The communique read: “The League of Northern Democrats held a meeting chaired by its chairman, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, with 147 members attending. After intensive discussions the following resolutions were adopted.
“We approved our constitution and minutes of previous meetings and directed the legal adviser to conclude the process of the registration of LND as an association; we approved the leadership of the LND as attached; we resolved to support the National Opposition Coalition Group chaired by Senator President David Mark in driving the transitional politics towards the 2027 general elections.
“We resolved to contribute in the dialogue on either registering a new political party or fuse into an existing one.
“We resolved that our first option is to register a new party in order to accommodate many independent members of the larger established political parties who currently feel reluctant to move into a smaller party but who are willing to move out to form a new party.”
Ardo also revealed alternatively, it would fuse into an existing party as a primary and necessary alternative.
“We resolve to mobilise Northern Nigerians to pressure the government, particularly the National Assembly leadership, to uphold the provisions of the constitution which they swore to do.
“To this end, we resolved to mobilise Nigerians to a civil resistance against the leaderships of NASS to force them to declare the seats of all the legislators in Delta and Kebbi states who cross-carpeted to other political parties as stipulated by sections of the constitution,” the organisation added.
“We resolved to engage the 19 Northern governors on their seeming inertia to the terrible situation in the North – endemic poverty, state of destitution of our people, insecurity, unemployment, and the appalling economic crisis in the region, which we concluded is as a result of poor governance at the state and local government levels,” the league explained.
Atiku visits Aregbesola
Meanwhile, in continuation of his effort to mobilise opposition politicians across the country for the yet-to-be formed coalition, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar over the weekend visited the immediate-past Interior Minister and ex-governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, at his country home in Ilesa.
The visit came just hours ahead of the coronation of the 49th Owa Obokun and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup.
The informal gathering, which drew a crowd of notable political figures in the state and beyond, was already sparking political interpretations, particularly as Nigeria gradually inches toward the 2027 general election.
Atiku, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, confirmed the meeting by sharing a short video clip of himself in company of former Vice President Namadi Sambo in cheerful conversation with Aregbesola over breakfast.
“Breakfast time at the residence of former Governor of Osun State, Engr Rauf Aregbesola,” he captioned the video.
The informal gathering, which drew a crowd of notable political figures in the State and beyond, was already sparking political interpretations, particularly as Nigeria gradually inches toward the 2027 general election.
Prominent members of the Aregbesola political camp were also present at the meeting. They included former Osun APC Chairman, Lowo Adebiyi; Chairman of Omoluabi Progressives, Azeez Adesiji; former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti, and former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam.
While the purpose of the visit was yet to be officially disclosed, political observers were interpreting the presence of two former Vice Presidents and a powerful Osun political figure as a significant alignment move ahead of 2027.
Recall that the Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa declined a request to halt the coronation ceremony, thereby clearing the way for the event to proceed as scheduled on Friday.
The coronation of Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup held at the Obokungbusi Hall in Ilesa, with a reception planned at the Ilesa Grammar School premises.
In a separate post earlier, Atiku shared his arrival at the Akure Airport in Ondo State, writing: “I was warmly received by stakeholders on arrival at the Akure Airport in Ondo State, ahead of the coronation of the 49th HRH Owa Obokun Adimula and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup today.”
