2027: ACF moves to review impact of Tinubu’s policies

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said it would set up a special committee to evaluate the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s policies, projects, and programmes on northern Nigeria, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, disclosed this at the Forum’s meeting held in Kaduna on Wednesday, warning that the region would not support politicians or parties that fail to protect its interests.

He noted that the committee would carry out a detailed study of the current administration’s governance, as part of a broader effort to ensure northern voices and needs are not marginalised in national affairs.

He said, “As a matter of fact, we have received a number of proposals from some of our elders that this body appoint a special committee that will conduct a detailed study and a review of the policies, projects and programs embarked upon by the current government and determine how they have impacted the various parts of the country, particularly Northern Nigeria.

“This is perhaps the best way to determine whether or not our interests are being sufficiently accommodated. For the avoidance of doubt, we must reiterate our faith in the principle that says all politics is local. In other words, 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 criticised what he described as the premature obsession with the 2027 elections, saying it detracts from the need for leaders to focus on their mandate.

He added “The view has been expressed, and it bears repeating here that 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”.

Dalhatu expressed confidence in the North’s potential to compete and prevail in any fair competition within the federation of Nigeria and even within the larger African continent.

He declared: “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 the federation of Nigeria and even within the larger African continent. The North has 19 out of the 36 states. We also have the FCT as a waritable component. We have a majority in the Senate, the House of Representatives, the National Economic Council as well as the Council of States. The North occupies close to 75 per cent of Nigeria’s land area and about 60 percent of the population.”