Akume urges North to back Tinubu in 2027, wait until 2031

Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume urged Northerners to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and defer a northern presidential bid until 2031, saying the region’s interests called for backing Tinubu. He made the appeal while addressing Benue State indigenes living in Kaduna, ahead of an All Progressives Congress campaign event in the state capital, according to accounts of his remarks. Akume argued that a Northerner seeking the presidency in 2027 would work against the region’s interests. In one account of his comments, he described such a candidate as an “enemy of the North” and warned listeners not to be misled by politicians pursuing personal ambitions. His remarks were attributed to a statement by his media adviser, Yomi Odunuga. He said the North should allow Tinubu to complete his political project before considering its own bid for the presidency in 2031. Akume invoked what he described as a North-South power-rotation agreement reached in Kaduna, arguing that the arrangement was intended to preserve national unity and should guide the timing of the region’s next presidential bid. The reports relay his account of that agreement;...