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…dismisses 10% prediction as ‘political fantasy’
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Democracy Watch Initiative (DWI) has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could secure less than 10 per cent of the northern vote in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the region will back his re-election bid.
DWI also rejected allegations by Dr Umar Ardo that the North has been marginalised under the Tinubu administration, describing the claims as politically motivated and aimed at exploiting regional sentiments.
In a statement issued by its Deputy National Chairman, Hon. Musa Adam, the group was reacting to an interview granted by Ardo on Frontline, a radio programme in Ogun State, which was subsequently reported by one of the daily newspapers.
Adam urged northern voters and Nigerians generally to reject what he described as the politics of division, blackmail and unsubstantiated statistics ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said Ardo’s assertions were an attempt to create unnecessary alarm and exploit regional sentiments for political purposes.
The DWI official also attacked Ardo’s political history, accusing him of repeatedly changing political parties in search of relevance.
According to him, Ardo contested governorship primaries under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) several times before moving to the All Progressives Congress (APC), returning to the PDP and later joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Adam also dismissed the League of Northern Democrats (LND), associated with Ardo, saying the group lacked the electoral influence to determine the political choices of northern voters.
On Ardo’s allegation that the Tinubu administration had “Yorubanised” federal appointments and favoured the South-West, Adam said the North remained strongly represented in key positions.
He listed Vice President Kashim Shettima, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas among senior northern officials in the administration.
“Federal character is being observed, and the North is not excluded,” he said.
Adam also rejected the allegation that the release of funds to ministries was tied to regions, insisting that budget releases were based on due process, project readiness and statutory allocations.
He challenged Ardo to publish verifiable figures to support his claims.
“The North is witnessing federal projects, agricultural interventions, security operations, road and rail infrastructure, and social investment programmes under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“These are not southern projects; they are Nigerian projects, and the North is a major beneficiary,” he said.
Adam further dismissed Ardo’s attempt to draw Kwara and Kogi into the North-South debate, saying the North-Central remained part of the northern region.
He described Ardo’s prediction that Tinubu would secure less than 10 per cent of northern votes in 2027 as “a hallucination born of frustration.”
According to him, Tinubu won several northern states in the 2023 presidential election and would consolidate his support in the region in 2027.
He cited the removal of fuel subsidy, unification of exchange rates, tax reforms, student loans, the Compressed Natural Gas initiative and infrastructure investments as some of the reforms he said would benefit the North and the country.
DWI called on northerners and Nigerians to reject what it described as “division, blackmail and false statistics” ahead of the 2027 election.
The group said the North was ready to support Tinubu to consolidate what it called the Renewed Hope reforms.
