Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has issued a stern warning to northern politicians nursing presidential ambitions for 2027, urging them to abandon their plans. According to Ganduje, President Bola Tinubu is poised to complete two full terms, making any bid from the North premature.
Ganduje’s remarks appear to be a direct counter to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently hinted in a cryptic post on his verified X handle that the North could replicate its 2015 strategy—when it mobilized against then-President Goodluck Jonathan—to challenge Tinubu’s re-election.
Speaking on Tuesday at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja while hosting leaders of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre (PBAT Media Centre) and the Tinubu Northern Youth Forum (TNYF), Ganduje reaffirmed that power rotation remains a core principle of the APC.
> “When a leader from the North governed for eight years, we pushed for the next president to come from the South. With hard work and cooperation from Nigerians, we achieved that. Our president is from the South and, inshallah, will complete his second term in 2027. After that, power will return to the North,” Ganduje declared.
The APC chairman emphasized that the party remains committed to maintaining a fair balance of power between the North and South, warning against any attempts to disrupt the current arrangement.
Acknowledging Nigeria’s economic and political challenges, Ganduje attributed the difficulties to deep-rooted issues that require time and serious intervention. However, he expressed optimism about Tinubu’s policies, stating that the administration’s reforms were already yielding positive results.
> “There is no doubt that many things went wrong over a long period, and fixing them requires serious intervention,” he noted.
Ganduje’s declaration sets the stage for what could be an intense political battle within the APC, as northern politicians weigh their options ahead of the 2027 elections. Will the North heed his call, or will internal resistance mount against Tinubu’s second-term bid? The coming months will reveal how the political tides will turn.
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