Babangida Aliyu, a former Niger State governor, has said President Bola Tinubu should be allowed to complete a second term in line with Nigeria’s unwritten power rotation arrangement between North and South. He warned that any attempt by Northern politicians to challenge this zoning principle in 2027 could déstabilise national unity and disrupt decades of political consensus.
Speaking Thursday on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Aliyu cautioned opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC), against fielding Northern presidential aspirants in the next general election. He criticized the argument that Northern candidates could promise a single term, calling it a veiled attempt to shortchange the South, which only began its eight-year rotation in 2023 with Tinubu’s election.
“If a northerner says he’s serving one term, what problem is he creating for the North?” Aliyu asked.
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He emphasised that the zoning understanding, though informal, has shaped presidential transitions since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. The only deviation occurred in 2010 after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, when his Southern deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, assumed power and later contested a full term.
Under this gentleman’s agreement, the presidency alternates every eight years between the North and South. With Buhari, a Northerner, completing two terms from 2015 to 2023, the South is expected to retain the presidency until at least 2031. Aliyu said disrupting this sequence would inflame tensions and undermine trust.
“If we could tolerate the late Muhammadu Buhari for eight years, oh my God, let’s try it… maybe by 2031, we can jettison the arrangement if we find it convenient,” he said.
Aliyu’s comments come amid growing speculation that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, another Northerner, may emerge as a presidential contender under the ADC banner in 2027. The ADC has been gaining political traction with recent defections, but Aliyu warned that presidential ambitions from the North, even within new platforms, are “premature” and potentially destabilising.
“For now, only governors and lawmakers are defecting. By 2031, you may end up with a presidential defection. Is that not a constitutional issue?” he said.
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Beyond zoning, Aliyu questioned the opposition’s preparedness to challenge Tinubu’s APC, insisting that ambition alone is not enough. He urged opposition leaders to articulate clear alternatives, rooted in ideology and policy, rather than personality.
“What is the alternative you’re offering? You want to remove the government fine. But with what platform, what vision?”
He also criticised the Tinubu administration’s failure to communicate its achievements, despite what he described as some policy successes. He called for more inclusive messaging from all arms of government, not just the Ministry of Information.
“What we have seen so far is that the government is doing well, but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said. “Every minister, every head of a parastatal, should be able to tell the people what they have been doing,” he said.
