Nigeria’s ambassador-designates to South Africa and Mexico, Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri, have said returning power to Northern Nigeria in 2027 after one southern term would go against the power rotation arrangement in the country.
The duo made the statement on Saturday while endorsing President Bola Tinubu for re-election in 2027.
According to them, the North completed two terms under former President Muhammadu Buhari with support from the South and equity demands that the South also completes two terms before power shifts again.
“We view it as unpatriotic and inimical to the unity, equilibrium, and progress of Nigeria for anyone to even conceive of power returning to Northern Nigeria after only one term of four years,” they said.
They added that President Tinubu’s presidency represents the continuation of the power rotation arrangement introduced at the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
“It is in the best interest of the stability, unity, and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in keeping with the Gentleman’s Agreement which ushered in our Fourth Republic in 1999, for there to be a balanced and orderly rotation of power in Nigeria between the North and the South,” the statement read.
Fani-Kayode and Omokri also said Tinubu played a major role in Buhari’s emergence as president in 2015. “Not just in Southern Nigeria, but in the specific hands of the man who was the chief architect for the return of power to the North in 2015,” they stated.
The ambassador-designates called on Nigerians to support Tinubu’s second-term bid, citing ongoing infrastructure projects under the administration.
They mentioned projects including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Illela-Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and the Trans-Saharan Road linking the South-East and Northern Nigeria.
The pair also referred to Switzerland as an example of a country that has maintained stability through power-sharing arrangements.
“The reason Switzerland has been stable, peaceful, and prosperous for the last 211 years is because that Alpine nation wisely introduced power sharing amongst its multiethnic population,” they said.
They concluded by urging Nigerians across regions and religions to support Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
