Abba Kabir Yusuf, the governor of Kano State, has called on Northerners to back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 reelection campaign, contending that the South should be given the opportunity to serve a full eight years as president before the North regains control.
In order to promote grassroots mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 elections, Yusuf made the appeal on Sunday at the Kano Government House while kicking off the distribution of fifty branded automobiles provided by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.
The governor argued that the North had already completed its own eight-year presidential tenure under former President Muhammadu Buhari, who served from 2015 to 2023, and that based on what he described as an understanding on power rotation between the North and South, the South should similarly be allowed a full eight years under Tinubu. He noted that Tinubu had so far served three and a half years, framing the coming election as the natural continuation of that arrangement rather than a break from it. He appealed specifically to Northerners and residents of the North-West to support the re-election bid, and asked for patience, saying the region should look toward 2031 as the point when power would return northward, while adding that only Allah could determine who would eventually hold the office.
Yusuf’s call for issue-based campaigning
Beyond the endorsement itself, Yusuf also urged politicians ahead of 2027 to keep campaigns peaceful and centred on issues, calling on candidates to avoid character assassination and instead focus on their achievements, programmes, and plans for the electorate. He said campaigns should be built around development and the welfare of Nigerians rather than personal attacks.
What Yusuf actually said
Yusuf’s remarks describe his own understanding of an informal power-rotation arrangement rather than a codified constitutional rule, and his framing of the North’s “turn” coming in 2031 assumes both Tinubu’s re-election and a continued rotation consensus that other political actors may not share. His comments were delivered at a party mobilisation event tied to the APC’s 2027 campaign machinery, meaning the appeal for zoning patience doubles as active campaign messaging for Tinubu rather than a neutral commentary on power-sharing norms. As the 2027 race develops, similar appeals to rotation and zoning are likely to keep surfacing from politicians across the political divide.
Source: Vanguard News.