ABUJA: President Bola Tinubu may have started moves to win back the support of northern leaders and those aggrieved with his administration.
Close aides to the President confirmed that several initiatives were being implemented and new ones created.
The sources claimed that the plan intended to balance the recent activities of some northern leaders opposed to the President’s reelection in 2027, even as they maintained the President had no fear of any political party or pressure groups.
Politicians from the North have expressed their frustration with the president Bola Tinubu administration, citing what they considered to be marginalized and unfair policies.
Furthermore, they claimed that the President practiced nepotism by recruiting mostly Lagos natives into his cabinet.
Ali Ndume, a former chief whip for the Senate, had complained the fact that members of the All Progressives Congress and their party leaders had difficulty getting in touch with the president.
The senator from Borno North, Tahir Monguno, took Ndume’s place when the party fired him due to the remark.
Ndume first stood by his words even though they were condemned, saying Tinubu was unreachable though he apologized later.
Salihu Lukman, the party’s former national vice chairman in the North-West, lambasted northern politicians in the Tinubu-led administration earlier in July.
he said despite an unstable and alarming reality displayed by the mandate bearer, he portrayed them as a “choir group poorly singing ‘on your mandate we stand’.”
“With every respect, hardly any official of the current administration of President Asiwaju Tinubu from the North, including Sen. Shettima, is willing and able to take the needed risk to defend the interest of the North.
“Because of self-preservation, already scheming for 2027 has commenced. Within the Presidency, there are indicative cold war dynamics and positioning, which is alleged to be responsible for the praise-singing disposition of Vice President Shettima,” he added.
About two months earlier, the Dean of the Borno Elders Forum, Prof Khalifa Dikwa, during a television interview, disclosed that the Northern elite were unhappy with Tinubu because of his “misfit and weak appointees” as well as his “anti-people policies.”
Dikwa added that even “the southern elite should be annoyed because Nigeria is more than Lagos”, describing it as “provocative.”
Some prominent northerners had also raised eyebrows following the decision of the Federal Government to relocate some departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria from Abuja to Lagos.
In April, a spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, Abdulaziz Suleiman, said the forum regretted supporting Tinubu, adding that with the increased security challenges in the region, the North had learned its lessons.
Suleiman, in an interview, noted that the North would prioritise unity and agreement in choosing the country’s next top presidential candidate.
“The North made a mistake in voting Bola Tinubu to the presidency in 2023, and it is unlikely that they will repeat the same error in the future. They have learned from their past missteps and will strive to select a candidate who can unite the country and govern in the best interests of all Nigerians.
“Moving forward, the North will be more cautious in selecting a candidate for the presidency. They will prioritise someone who is seen as more inclusive, less controversial, and more aligned with the interests of all regions of the country,” he stated.
But a credible source said the Presidency was working to address some of the issues, adding that a two-prong approach was being deployed.
“The first is to increase patronage to the north in terms of appointment. With this, we can silence the noise and complaints on the lopsided appointments, which has no basis.
