Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Insist Presidency Must Remain in South in 2027

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), yesterday, reaffirmed its position that Nigeria’s presidency must remain in the South after the 2027 general election, declaring that such an arrangement was necessary to preserve national political stability and strengthen the country’s fragile unity.

The position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the forum’s regular general meeting held in Abuja and attended by delegates of its four constituent organisations – Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

The communiqué, read by the Chairman of the Forum and Leader of Afenifere, Chief Oladipo Olaitan, stressed that the forum had resolved to sustain its earlier position that the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should remain in the southern region for the next four years following the expiration of President Bola Tinubu’s first term.

The meeting was held at the Abuja liaison office of PANDEF and was attended by prominent leaders from the constituent organisations, including former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Obong Victor Attah; former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo; former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Godknows Igali; and the National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, among others.

According to the communiqué, “SMBLF reiterates its earlier resolution that the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall remain in the southern region in the next four years consequent on the 2027 general election in the interest of national political stability.”

Beyond the zoning question, the forum expressed deep concern over what it described as the growing erosion of internal democracy within Nigeria’s political parties, warning that the trend threatened the country’s democratic future.

It criticised the conduct of ongoing party primaries, alleging that the process had increasingly become dominated by a few influential individuals at the expense of the electorate.

The forum argued that democracy could only thrive where citizens were free to determine who represented them, insisting that the practice whereby a single individual or a small oligarchy imposed candidates on political parties undermined democratic values and national development.

It also advocated constitutional reforms that would permit independent candidacy, maintaining that Nigeria should remain a vibrant multi-party democracy that gives citizens broader political choices.

The communiqué stated further that, “The essence of democracy is free choice by the people. The situation of one person or an oligarchy of a few choosing candidates in a political system that excludes independent candidates is antithetical to democracy and national development.”

On constitutional reforms, the regional leaders renewed their long-standing demand for restructuring and declared that they would mobilise Nigerians to support only a presidential candidate committed to delivering a new constitution anchored on the principles of true federalism.

They argued that the current constitutional arrangement had failed to adequately address the country’s political and governance challenges.