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From Fred Itua, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign has stepped up consultations with traditional rulers and religious leaders across the country as political alignments intensify ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, led by its Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has in recent days taken the President’s second-term campaign to some of the country’s prominent traditional institutions, seeking prayers, blessings and support.
The outreach has taken the council to the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar; the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II; and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar ibn Umar Garba El-Kanemi.
“As a presidential campaign committee, we decided to start with the royal fathers to seek their blessing and prayers,” Yari said during the consultations. The campaign’s turn to the palaces comes as separate political consultations and meetings involving influential northern figures are also attracting attention ahead of the election.
Former First Lady Aisha Buhari, widow of former President Muhammadu Buhari, last week visited African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at his Abuja residence.
Neither Aisha Buhari nor Atiku disclosed any political agreement arising from the meeting, but Atiku described the visit as “warm and deeply appreciated.”
“Beyond the courtesies of the occasion, it was also a reminder of the urgent responsibility before all who seek a better Nigeria: to put the welfare, dignity and future of our people first,” Atiku said.
The meeting came against the backdrop of earlier statements by some northern political and socio-cultural figures questioning choices made during the 2023 presidential election and calling for greater consultation ahead of 2027.
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), through its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, had said the North regretted its support for Tinubu in 2023 and would place greater emphasis on unity and consensus in considering its choices in subsequent elections.
The forum does not, however, speak for every northern political organisation or voter, and no common northern position on the 2027 presidential election has been formally announced.
Against that background, Tinubu’s campaign has begun its own outreach in the region and elsewhere.
In Sokoto, Yari led a delegation to the Sultanate Council to seek the prayers and guidance of the Sultan.
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The delegation included the governors of Kebbi and Sokoto states, Nasir Idris and Ahmad Aliyu, among other political leaders.
The Sultan, while receiving the delegation, urged political actors to promote peace, unity and responsible engagement as the campaign progresses.
He has also urged voters to scrutinise the promises made by politicians before making their electoral choices.
In Lagos, the campaign council visited the Oba of Lagos, who publicly expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The message was more measured in Benin, where the Oba of Benin emphasised the non-partisan position of the traditional institution while receiving Yari and other members of the campaign council.
“The Benin throne is not partisan,” the monarch said, while also urging political leaders to put national interest above partisan differences.
The visits illustrate the campaign council’s strategy of engaging traditional institutions as it begins mobilisation for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Religious leaders are also emerging as another target of political outreach.
Muslim and Christian clerics have participated in prayer and mobilisation activities linked to the President’s re-election campaign, while further engagements with religious and community groups are expected as campaigning gathers momentum.
The emerging battle for political support in the North is expected to form an important part of the 2027 contest, with Tinubu seeking to retain support in the region while Atiku attempts another presidential run on the platform of the ADC.
Former Deputy Senate Majority Leader Bala Na’Allah has also said that although he remains a member of the APC, his eventual political choice would reflect the preference of his constituents.
With the presidential election approaching, the consultations are expected to intensify as the competing campaigns seek support from political leaders, traditional institutions, religious groups and voters across the country.
