'I Have Not Seen Anything That Will Prevent Tinubu From Winning The Next Election', Says Founding Member of Arewa, Yakasai

By: Israel Adeleke

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that a major elder statesman and founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum, Tanko Yakasai, has said that  President, Bola Tinubu, remains the most favoured candidate to win the 2027 presidential election, adding that there is currently no politician with a stronger backing than Tinubu.

OTN News further reports that the nothern elder statesman who said this while speaking with NAN, disclosed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) controls most states and still enjoys support from governors in opposition parties.

According to him, “In Nigeria today, Bola Tinubu is the president; he has his ministers and governors who are backing him.

“Who else has all what it takes to move into the contest with the kind of stamina and strength to be more successful comparatively with Tinubu?” he queried.

“We should all wait and see if the picture will change drastically, otherwise for now, the odds are in his favour because I have not seen anything that will prevent him from winning the next election,” Yakasai said.

Yakasai, speaking on the northerners believe of superiority over who becomes the country president,explained, “He hasn’t done anything against the north, in my understanding, and the north alone cannot decide who becomes the president of the country.”

He added that there is no official consensus yet among the northern political class on 2027.

“I haven’t heard anybody making any proposition about the 2027 presidential election from Arewa Consultative Forum,” he said.

“What is tagged the Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders Forum’s position is mere individual opinions, because all sections of the north have not taken a stand on this.”

He said Nigerians should wait until the region formally takes a position, adding that internal crises in opposition parties have made Tinubu’s path to re-election even easier.

Yakasai declined to assess Tinubu’s performance, but urged politicians to prioritise the interests of the public.

“Our politicians should see politics as a dynamic game, and what I will advise is for them to play the game on the basis of ideology and programmes,” he said.

“Let them envision the way they want the country to be and not targeting to be ministers, governors and president.

“After becoming all these and nothing is done in the interest of the country, we will not get better.

“They should eschew politics of ethnicity and religion because not making our country the focal point of our politics has held us down for so long.” he said.