2027: ACF gives conditions for North’s support

2027: ACF gives conditions for North’s support

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Nigeria’s foremost socio-cultural organisation, has declared that the North will only support candidates in the 2027 general elections who are committed to protecting and promoting the region’s interests.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, chairman of the forum’s Board of Trustees, at the start of the board’s meeting in Kaduna. The meeting was convened to address critical issues affecting the region and the nation at large.

In attendance were four former governors: Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Simon Lalong (Plateau), and Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna). Also present were former Minister of Information Lai Mohammed; retired Army spokesman, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; and former political adviser to the president in the office of the vice president, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, among others.

Dalhatu, a former Minister of Power and Steel, emphasised that the region’s loyalty would not lie with any particular political figure or party but with those who genuinely care about the North.

“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,” he stated.

He highlighted the North’s numerical and political advantage and called for unity among stakeholders to overcome challenges and present a formidable bloc.

“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.

“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. The North occupies close to 75 per cent of Nigeria’s land area and about 60 per cent of the population.

“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,” he said.

 

2027: ACF gives conditions for North’s support