Shehu Sani, a former senator, says the recent visits by northern politicians to former President Muhammadu Buhari are calculated moves to work against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

In the past few weeks, several northern politicians have visited Buhari in his home town of Daura, Katsina state.

On June 22, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Aminu Tambuwal, ex-governor of Sokoto, visited Buhari.

About 24 hours later, Nasir el-Rufai, an ex-governor of Kaduna, also visited the former president.

In a statement on Monday, Sani said that though the visits have been tagged as “Sallah homage,” they have a political undertone.

“The recent visits by some prominent Northern politicians to Daura appear to be the usual Eid homage, but looking deeper and beyond the facade, it’s surreptitiously a new attempt to build a strong northern alliance using ex-President Buhari as a rallying point to challenge and evict President Tinubu’s government in 2027,” the statement reads.

“It’s a regrouping of Northern political forces for the next general election. A project that will eventually kiss the dust.

“They want to resurrect Buhari’s political charm and fanaticism and mobilise the gullible to another hollow and bewildering end.

“They want to stock up and light up the Arewa sentiment without considering the inferno it would eventually generate.”

Sani said Buhari, a northerner who served as president for eight years, did not make a significant impact on the nation.

“They had power and wasted it. What do they want to do with it again?” the former senator queried.

“A southerner is in power just for one year. It’s too early for the desperate and power-hungry northern elite to start plotting.

“The south never did that to Buhari. Their intended action has the capacity of ruining the democratic process and wrecking the fragile unity of the country when the south is awakened to this reality. Their obsession with power is condemnable.

“Opposition to Tinubu from the point of policies, promises and programs of his administration is a democratic right of any Nigerian.

“People have the right to speak and criticize the government. But attempts to whip up Northern sentiments to achieve their political ends is a dangerous political experiment and expedition at this material time.

“No serious southerner challenged Buhari for eight years. These power-drunk Northern politicians are dragging the region to a new political journey through a land mine.

“The Daura homage of the disgruntled and the obsessed will fail. Our people in the North should reject these faces and their plots.

“They have nothing to offer. From the abandoned Baro Port, Ajaokuta, Lake Chad basin refiling and Mambilla hydropower, they failed.”

Officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have continued to barricade the 23 LGA headquarters of Rivers state.

On Tuesday, the Rivers police command announced the take over of the council headquarters following clashes between supporters of Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor.

The crisis ensued after youths stormed the LGA secretariats to dislodge the elected chairpersons, whose tenure ended on Monday.

Following the expiration of the chairpersons’ tenure, Fubara ordered the heads of local government administration to immediately assume control of the 23 council areas of the state.

Despite the governor’s directive, some of the former LGA chairpersons reportedly attempted to resume duty at the council secretariat, but they were chased away by youths.

During the clash at Eberi-Omuma community in Okuama LGA, a police officer and one vigilante member were killed.

On Wednesday, Fubara swore in the caretaker committee chairpersons for the 23 LGAs.

Some of the caretaker chairpersons could not access the council offices because armed police officers remained stationed at the LGA headquarters.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, Darlington Orji, caretaker committee chairman of Ikwere LGA, said after the swearing-in ceremony, he could not access the council because it was barricaded by police officers.

Orji said the police officers said they were acting on the orders of Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police.

Over the past few months, Rivers has been engulfed in political crisis due to the rift between Fubara and Wike.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo has expelled Philip Shaibu, a former deputy governor of the state.

The PDP state working committee (SWC) in Edo also expelled Dan Orbih, the party’s national vice-chairman (south-south), and Omorgie Ihama, a former member of the house of representatives who represented the Oredo federal constituency.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ogie Vasco, the PDP spokesperson in Edo state, said Shaibu, Orbih, and Ihama were expelled over alleged anti-party activities.

Vasco said the SWC took the decision after it “extensively deliberated on the issue”, adding that the expulsion is with immediate effect.

Shaibu was impeached as the deputy governor by the Edo state house of assembly in April.

The impeachment followed the adoption of the report of a seven-member investigative panel.

The panel was set up by Daniel Okungbowa, chief judge of Edo, and was headed by S. A. Omonuwa, a retired justice.

Shaibu was accused of “misconduct, perjury and disclosure of government secrets”.

‘MY EXPULSION IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Meanwhile, Orbih has rejected his suspension, saying it did not follow due process.

“When a group of persons sits down to make pronouncements that are unconstitutional it only shows that they are ignorant of the constitution of the party,” Orbih told journalists.