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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid has received a boost from two political and religious blocs in the North, with the Igbo Political Movement across the 19 northern states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as Northern women Ulama, endorsing him for a second term in 2027.
While the Igbo group pledged to mobilise a minimum of two million votes for Tinubu and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, said the women Islamic scholars based their endorsement on the President’s performance and inclusive governance.
The Igbo Political Movement, operating under the Igbo Delegate Assembly (IDA), 19 Northern States and FCT, said its decision followed consultations with traders, industrialists, youths, women and community leaders across the North.
Director-General of the movement, Chief John Amaechi Onwe, who announced the endorsement at a press conference in Abuja at the weekend, said the group believed Tinubu’s economic reforms and infrastructure programmes required more time to mature.
“We stand unequivocally to make a clear and historic declaration: We, the Igbo Political Movement 19 Northern States and FCT who believe in unity, enterprise, and progress, are throwing our full weight behind the re-election of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in 2027,” Onwe said.
He said the decision followed “a careful and thorough review of the last three years of this administration” and consultations with members and stakeholders across the North.
Onwe cited the removal of petrol subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange market, saying that although the policies were initially painful, the group believed they were addressing economic leakages and improving government revenue.
He also listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and access roads to the Second Niger Bridge among projects which, according to the group, demonstrated the administration’s commitment to infrastructure development.
“These macro policies are laying the foundation for a $1 trillion economy. Nigeria needs four more years to consolidate these gains,” he said.
Onwe said Igbo traders and entrepreneurs in Kano, Zaria, Kaduna and the FCT had also benefited from government interventions targeted at micro, small and medium enterprises.
“The Igbo man is a trader, an industrialist, and an innovator. We live and die by microeconomics. This is where we have seen direct impact,” he said.
The movement pledged to support APC governorship and legislative candidates across the 19 northern states and the FCT and mobilise its grassroots structures for the party.
“We are mobilising all our structures across the 19 Northern States and FCT to vote massively for APC.
“We are committed to ensuring that our up to two million voters vote APC in the forthcoming election,” Onwe said.
He subsequently clarified that the two million votes represented the minimum the group hoped to deliver.
“So we are giving all APC candidates a minimum of two million votes. It can be more, it can be times two or more,” he said.
Asked why the movement was supporting Tinubu rather than Peter Obi, Onwe said its political activities and investments were centred in the North.
“Here, we are not here for Peter Obi. We are here for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“And our investment is in the North. Like I said in my address, I said we are here in northern politics. And we are here for Tinubu. We are not here for another candidate,” he said.
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On the continued agitation over Nnamdi Kanu, Onwe declined to take a position, saying: “The issue of Nnamdi Kanu, the government knows what to do.”
He urged Nigerians to reject ethnic politics and judge political leaders on their performance.
“We call on all Nigerians to shun division, politics of bitterness and ethnic bigotry. Let us judge leaders by results.
“President Tinubu, the Igbo nation in 19 Northern states in Nigeria and FCT is with you. Finish the job you have started,” Onwe said.
Why women Ulama endorsed Tinubu — Uba Sani
Meanwhile, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, said Northern women Ulama endorsed Tinubu because of what he described as the President’s achievements in education, infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement with delegates from the 19 northern states at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Kaduna, yesterday, Sani said the endorsement was not driven by sentiment or personal considerations.
“They are not endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu based on sentiments or some selfish reasons. It is simply because of what he has done for Nigeria and for Northern Nigeria in particular,” he said.
The engagement was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.
It was attended by Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum; Minister of Defence, Bello Matawalle, and other government officials.
Sani said the women Ulama were particularly impressed by the administration’s interventions in education and skills development.
“Most importantly, he has invested a lot in education, which is the most important area of focus in Northern Nigeria. You will agree with me that the gap that exists in the North is very wide,” he said.
He cited the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme and Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), claiming that the North accounted for more than 60 per cent of beneficiaries.
“As some of them have said here, if you go to the dashboard of NELFUND and TVET, Northern Nigeria has benefited to the tune of over 60 per cent.
“That is simply because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is detribalised; he is someone who believes in one Nigeria without discrimination,” Sani said.
The governor said northern governors supporting Tinubu would encourage the women to take their message to the 19 states, local government areas and wards.
He further claimed that the North had benefited more under Tinubu than under any previous Nigerian leader.
“The North has benefited under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu more than any leader in the history of Nigeria. We have the data and the statistics and we can prove it any day, anytime,” Sani said.
He dismissed attempts to frame the 2027 contest along North-South lines as a “lazy argument,” saying some of those advancing such arguments had previously served as vice presidents, governors and ministers but had done little for the region compared with the Tinubu administration.
