The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has accused former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, and other northern political figures of conspiring to truncate President Bola Tinubu’s tenure.
Declaring support for Tinubu’s reelection in 2027, the group warned against attempt by self-appointed “leaders of the North” to undermine the zoning principle and prematurely oust the President.
Speaking via a statement on Monday, the group’s General Secretary, Bunmi Fasehun, accused Rufai, and other northern political figures of trying to truncate the unwritten power rotation agreement between the North and South.
“Embittered souls now calling for Asiwaju’s premature ouster should take note of the rotational principle that the entire country embraced and which has made government inclusive and equitable since 1999. That principle must not be endangered for the selfish interest of political adventurists like Hameed Baba-Ahmed and Nasir El-Rufai,” Fasehun said.
Fasehun stressed that OPC’s over 10 million members and supporters would not remain silent while such political moves threaten national unity.
“No one can obliterate the historical role that Asiwaju played in returning the presidency to the North in 2015 by working against a sitting President from the South. For the first time in Nigerian history, an opposition party won a presidential election.
“It was a mission impossible that God used Tinubu to make possible with his stratagem, connections and resources through the primaries to the general elections in 2015 and in 2019.
“Evidently, Tinubu mobilised his South-West to vote massively for Buhari in both elections,” the OPC said.
Fasehun also described Tinubu as a product of Nigeria’s democratic struggle, likening him to late South African icon, Nelson Mandela.
“Like the OPC and our Founder, the Late Dr. Frederick Fasehun, Tinubu played a formidable role in NADECO, the ultimate vehicle for our country’s democratic struggle, both at home and abroad. Like Nelson Mandela, Tinubu is the first Nigerian President in this Fourth Republic to emerge from the trenches of the struggle against military rule,” he added.