A group, the Northern Minorities 4 Tinubu has formally declared its unflinching support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing his leadership as the most inclusive and transformative in recent Nigerian history.
By Chimezie Godfrey
A group, the Northern Minorities 4 Tinubu has formally declared its unflinching support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing his leadership as the most inclusive and transformative in recent Nigerian history.
Speaking at a press conference held in Abuja on Sunday, Convener of the group, Chief Jacob Edi, mnipr, said their mission was to “add the true voice of the North” to the growing wave of support for the President, stressing that those peddling narratives of Tinubu being anti-North were only pursuing selfish political interests.
“What you see across the country today is not manufactured hype. It is organic. It is conviction. Nigerians believe that under Tinubu, this nation is finally on the right path,” Edi said.
He noted that leaders from opposition parties—including Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau (PDP), Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra (APGA), Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun (PDP), and Governor Alex Otti of Abia (Labour Party)—have openly declared support for Tinubu. According to him, this was proof that the President’s leadership “cuts across divides.”
Edi dismissed allegations that the Tinubu administration was marginalising the North, pointing to the appointments of key northern figures in critical sectors.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Defence, the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff, the GMD of NNPCL, the MD/CEO of Ajaokuta Steel Company, the Minister of Information and National Orientation—all are northerners. Or is there another North unknown to us, the minorities of northern Nigeria?” he asked.
The group further highlighted the establishment of the North-West and North-Central Development Commissions, as well as the unprecedented inclusion of an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory in the Federal Executive Council, describing them as historic milestones.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa was also quoted as praising Tinubu’s efforts in agriculture, security, and infrastructure.
Edi added that the group was planning a mass solidarity rally in Abuja.
“In the weeks ahead, two million northerners from all 19 northern states will converge on Abuja to show where we stand—not with the loud minority of detractors, but with President Tinubu, the one who truly understands the dynamics of power and nation-building,” he said.
While acknowledging the current economic hardship, Edi likened the situation to “labour pains” which, though painful, would lead to a better Nigeria.
“Yes, Nigerians are feeling the pain of reforms. We are too. But these pains are temporary, necessary, and will deliver a bundle of joy,” he insisted.
Also speaking, Nupe Youth Leader, Baba Alhaji Othman, backed the group’s position, citing evidence of northern inclusion in budgetary allocations, defence, agriculture, infrastructure and social intervention programmes.
“The highest budgetary allocations today go to Defence and Agriculture, both led by northern ministers. Over ₦3.5 trillion has been invested into agriculture. The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme is reaching villages, and major roads like Lokoja-Kaduna and the coastal routes are back on track. If Tinubu did not cause the problems of the North, why should anyone say he is against us? He is solving them,” Othman declared.
He challenged northern elites allegedly opposed to Tinubu to “come with a complete agenda that truly serves the masses, not just themselves.”
Othman further stressed that it was time to give the North-Central zone a shot at the Presidency by 2031, noting that while other northern zones had produced leaders, the North-Central was yet to do so.
The group vowed to inaugurate chapters across all northern states in preparation for Tinubu’s re-election bid, promising what they described as “an authoritative, crushing victory” in 2027.