Political stakeholders from Nigeria’s North Central region have asked President Bola Tinubu to choose his 2027 running mate from their zone if he wants their support for re-election. They also urged him to drop the current Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who hails from the North-East.
The call was made during a closed-door meeting held on Saturday as part of ongoing consultations by the North Central Renaissance Movement. The group is demanding that the North Central region be given a fair share in Nigeria’s leadership, saying the zone has long been politically marginalized.
The meeting had in attendance influential leaders such as former National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (retd), the Onah of Abaji, His Royal Highness Musa Yunusa, and former Senator John Danboyi. Other political figures and elder statesmen from across the country also participated.
Chairman of the North Central Renaissance Movement, Professor Nghargbu K’tso, led the delegation. In a statement made available to Sunday PUNCH, he said their goal is to secure the vice presidential position or the presidency for the North Central zone in 2027.
“The North Central is strengthening advocacy for the return of the presidency to the zone come 2027 through high-level consultations with prominent figures in the geo-political zone and Nigeria at large,” K’tso stated.
He stressed that the region has been loyal to successive governments but continues to be sidelined in leadership roles.
He said, “We appealed for the cooperation of Nigerians to make the agitation a reality and put the region in the equation of other zones who have enjoyed the constitutional right of producing president and vice president in Nigeria. The zone has what it takes to lead, rather than to be led all the time.”
North Central Feels Neglected
The renewed push for inclusion comes just days after a large gathering of stakeholders and party leaders from the region declared that they would work together to produce Nigeria’s next President after what they described as “65 years of marginalization.”
The North Central zone, which includes states such as Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, and Nasarawa, has never produced a democratically elected President or Vice President since Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
Stakeholders argue that it is now time for the region to occupy top leadership positions, especially given its political loyalty and strategic importance in national elections.
“We have supported other regions. Now it is time for Nigeria to support us,” said one of the delegates who attended the meeting but asked not to be named.
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2027 Political Realignment Begins Early
Although the next general election is still about two years away, political calculations and realignments have already begun. The call to drop Vice President Shettima is a strong indication that internal power-sharing debates are heating up within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Observers say President Tinubu, who is expected to seek a second term, will face pressure from multiple interest groups as he tries to balance regional, religious, and party loyalties.
For now, the North Central stakeholders remain firm in their demand. They say their push for power is not just about politics, but about fairness, justice, and national unity.
Another leader at the meeting said, “We are not begging. We are demanding what is rightfully ours. Nigeria belongs to all of us.”
The group plans to continue consultations with other influential political figures and former public office holders across the country to gain broader support for their agenda.