AS Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has restated its commitment to remain non-partisan, stressing that while its members may hold personal political leanings, the Forum itself will not endorse any political party.
Speaking at the 78th National Executive Committee meeting in Kaduna yesterday, ACF Chairman Mamman Osuman (SAN) emphasized that the Forum would continue to collaborate with groups that share its objectives.
He dismissed the notion of staying silent, warning instead that the body will remain firm in confronting “imperfections, avarice, misgivings, and deceit” from political actors.
Osuman called on leaders and citizens across the North to remain united and vigilant amid rising insecurity, political manipulation, and environmental challenges threatening the region’s stability.
He cautioned against complacency and the spread of misinformation within the northern socio-political class.
Highlighting the worsening insecurity, he noted that the region continues to grapple with terrorism, banditry, and recurring natural disasters such as flooding, all of which have claimed countless lives.
“We have lost children, middle-aged men and women, and the aged to natural causes, flooding, and to criminals, psychopaths, gangsters, and terrorists. Our pains as a region are therefore a major concern to the ACF, for which I ask for introspection and prayers,” Osuman said.
The renewed call comes weeks after the Forum accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of marginalizing the North in budget allocations and infrastructure development.
At a recent policy dialogue in Kaduna, ACF Board of Trustees Chairman Bashir Dalhatu argued that despite the North’s overwhelming support for Tinubu in the 2023 elections, the region has been sidelined in major government policies and project implementations.
The Forum’s position underscores growing unease in Northern Nigeria as political maneuvering for 2027 intensifies.