2027: Youth Demands Zoning of Yobe Governorship to Yobe North Senatorial District

Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos and Muhammad Sabiru in Maiduguri

A youth group under the aegis of Nguru Ina Mafita has called for the governorship ticket of Yobe State to be zoned to Yobe North Senatorial District (Zone C) ahead of the 2027 elections, citing equity, fairness and justice.

The group’s leader, Ibrahim Mohammed Abubakar, made the demand during a press conference held in Nguru yesterday, insisting that the zone had been politically marginalised since the return of democracy in 1999.

According to him, all elected governors of the state have emerged from Yobe East (Zone A), except the late Mamman Ali from Yobe South (Zone B), who governed for only two years before his death.

He further noted that Zone B had consistently produced deputy governors, while Yobe North had neither produced a governor, deputy governor nor minister in over two decades.

“Yobe North (Zone C) has been left with no governor, no deputy governor, or minister since 1999, while the only slot of Secretary to the State Government zoned to us has been occupied by one man for almost 12 years,” he said.

Abubakar said the group had resolved to support Engr. Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja, Tafidan Nguru Emirate, to contest the governorship position in 2027.

He described Maihaja as an experienced politician and administrator capable of leading the state to greater development.

“Engr. Maihaja is a seasoned politician, bureaucrat, highly experienced in governance and capable of leading the state to progress,” he stated.

Maihaja, a two-time governorship aspirant in 2007 and 2015, also served as Director of Campaign Planning for the Presidential Campaign Council that supported President Bola Tinubu’s emergence in the 2023 election.

The group also urged him not to decline calls by elders and youths in Nguru for him to contest the governorship seat.