…Says, ‘We will not miss Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, others in 2027’

National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed contentions that politicians in Northern Nigeria are ganging up against the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying it was “a lie from the pit of hell that the North is ganging up against President Tinubu.”

Ajibola Basiru, who spoke in Ibadan on Monday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Zone B Media Roundtable held at the Press Centre, Ibadan, said, on the contrary, President Tinubu is being celebrated across the North and that “the North today is solidly behind President Bola Tinubu.”

He said: “If you go to the streets of Kano, Katsina, Gombe, you will see the way President Tinubu is being celebrated. In fact, there is a new ‘national anthem’ by Rarara entitled Omo Ologo, which is being sung everywhere in the North.

“In Katsina, all political structures there have collapsed to support President Tinubu’s 2027 agenda. The former governor, Ibrahim Shema, was just recently appointed as the Chairman of the Federal Capital Development Authority. The former governor also said that those people who wanted to drop his name are just yahoo-yahoo politicians. In Kaduna, under Governor Uba Sani, APC is the only viable electoral machine in that place.”

Ajibola Basiru, while fielding questions, also said the Interim National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and a former ally of President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, will not be missed by the party in 2027.

Aregbesola, who is also a former governor of Osun State, recently emerged as the Interim National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress and the coalition of politicians scheming to take over power from President Tinubu in 2027.

Senator Ajibola said Aregbesola and his ADC do not pose any threat to his party and the second-term ambition of President Tinubu.

Ajibola Basiru said Aregbesola did not support Tinubu in 2023 and that in 2027, the party and President Tinubu will not miss his support.

“He did not support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 and you can check, he did not vote in that election. So, if President Tinubu—out of office, with change of naira notes, with orchestrated fuel scarcity—still emerged as president, today, President Tinubu is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and our party is waxing stronger.

“We are gaining more states and our party is waxing stronger. We are definitely not going to lose sleep over anybody trying to gang up, no matter how highly placed.

“People who did not work for us in 2023 cannot now say we are going to miss them not working for us in 2027. And there are quite a number of them. Rotimi Amaechi is one of them. Babachir Lawal did not work for President Tinubu in 2023.”

He said people should understand that Rauf Aregbesola is not moving from APC to ADC. “Some months ago, he announced that he is no longer in APC. So, he is moving as a party-less individual into a party whose status we don’t know.”

Earlier in an address, the Vice President of Zone B of the NUJ, Princess Ronke Afebioye-Samo, said: “As the fourth estate of the realm, the media plays a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s narrative, holding the political class and those in power accountable, and setting the agenda for national discourse.

“Through tireless efforts, the media serves as watchdogs, ensuring transparency and good governance. Our role in democracy is indispensable, and this parley provides a timely platform for critical discussions, idea-sharing, and reflection on how we can continue to strengthen our democracy through effective journalism.” (Nigerian Tribune)