North will only back 2027 candidates who protect region’s interests – ACF

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Northern Nigeria’s leading sociocultural organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has said that it will only back candidates who are dedicated to furthering and protecting Northern interests in the general elections of 2027.

Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, the chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees, stated during the beginning of the forum’s meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday that the North would no longer provide unqualified support to politicians or political parties that did not make explicit promises to the welfare and development of the region.

“Northern Nigeria will remain faithful not to particular politicians or political parties but to those who care about our regional interests and are willing to promote and protect them,” Dalhatu stated.

Former Minister of Power and Steel, Dalhatu cautioned that the North is dealing with “many existential problems” and called on all parties to work together to put up a strong front before the next elections.

He emphasized that if the region stays unified, it may influence national outcomes.

“Northern Nigeria is today bedevilled by numerous existential problems. But what is not in doubt is the fact that the North has in abundance what it takes to compete and prevail in any fair competition within Nigeria and even the wider African continent,” he said.

Citing the region’s political clout and numerical prowess, he said that the North holds a majority in a number of national organizations.

“The North has 19 out of the 36 states, and we also have the FCT as a veritable component. We have a majority in the Senate, the House of Representatives, the National Economic Council, and the Council of State,” Dalhatu noted.

“An area this big and this strong can never be subdued by any opponent, provided we remain united and place our region above all other considerations. United we stand, divided we fall.”

Several notable Northern leaders, including former governors Ahmed Makarfi, Simon Lalong, Ramalan Yero, and Ibrahim Shekarau, attended the high-level gathering.

Other attendees included Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former presidential adviser; Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, a retired army spokesman; Babachir Lawal, a former secretary to the Government of the Federation; and Lai Mohammed, a former minister of information.

Dalhatu also issued a warning against what he called the hasty political alliances and competition for 2027, claiming that these diversions threaten effective governance.

“The current preoccupation with the 2027 national elections is premature and a disservice to the principle of the four-year term limit given to elected officials,” he said.

He disclosed that the ACF is thinking about establishing a committee to evaluate how government initiatives, particularly those implemented under the current administration, affect Northern Nigeria.

“We have received a number of proposals from some of our elders that this body appoints a special committee to conduct a detailed study and review of the policies, projects and programmes embarked upon by the current government and determine how they have impacted the various parts of the country particularly Northern Nigeria,” he said.

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