Former Southern and Northern legislators have endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office come 2027.
They stated that it is the turn of the South to complete its tenure, thereby adopting President Tinubu as the sole candidate of the South.
The ex-legislators made the decision at the 2025 Southern Summit of Former Legislators organized by the National Forum of Former Legislators, held on Saturday at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The summit, themed National Unity: Bedrock of Nation Building, had in attendance the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Olufemi Gbajabiamila, former Senate President Ken Nnamani, Yakubu Dogara, a former House of Representatives Speaker, former Speaker Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma Egba, among others.
According to the communique issued at the end of the summit, the decision to endorse President Bola Tinubu was imperative in the interest of unity, justice, and fairness.
The communique, read by Samson Osagie, former House of Representatives member from Edo State, was adopted after the Chairman, Senator Ken Nnamani, put the question to the participants.
It reads, “As a body, we will always align ourselves to those things that will promote the unity, peace, and prosperity of our dear country Nigeria. We commend the patriotic courage of our colleagues of the Northern Caucus in calling for the South to complete their tenure of the leadership of the country.
“We affirm that it is turn of the South to complete its tenure. We posit that it is in the best interest of the South and nation that the incumbent, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, completes the tenure of the South.
“Accordingly, we adopt him as the Sole Candidate of the South. We call on the South to support the North in 2031 to take up their tenure for the leadership of our dear country.”
In his remarks, the convener of the summit, Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, stated that Tinubu had made it clear from day one that his administration would not shy away from tackling the most difficult reforms.
He described President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy as an act of “extraordinary statesmanship,” not that of a politician thinking about the next election, but a bold move in the interest of Nigeria’s long-term stability.
“The absolute clarity of the President’s vision is the reason this administration has set out from day one to tackle the most difficult reforms. Today, the Federal Government of Nigeria is no longer paying inflated subsidy claims that benefit only a tiny minority of our citizens.
“These are not the actions of a politician thinking about the next election. They are acts of extraordinary statesmanship by a leader whose highest concern is the fortune of the Nigerian people and the fate of the next generation,” he said.
While acknowledging that the reforms come with temporary hardship, Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to be patient.
The Northern Caucus of the forum, led by Rufai Chanchagi, reiterated its resolve to back the South in the next election, insisting that the region should be allowed to complete eight years in the presidency in the spirit of fairness and equity.
In his remarks, the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, described members of the forum as true custodians of the nation’s democratic journey, declaring that the South and President Tinubu must be allowed to complete two terms in the presidency.
Similarly, Senator Surajudeen Basiru, the Senate Spokesperson and Senator representing Osun Central, 9th Assembly, asserted that in the face of social, political, and economic challenges confronting the country, nothing was greater than ensuring that diversity becomes a source of strength rather than a wedge of division.
