The governor of Gombe and chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, Inuwa Yahaya, says the north will back President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027 in recognition of the administration’s delivery on key electoral promises to the region.
The governor spoke at the opening of a two-day interactive session on government-citizen engagement organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) at Arewa House, Kaduna.
Tinubu was represented by Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, governor of Kwara, and Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation.
Yahaya said the north’s overwhelming support for Tinubu in 2023 was a strategic decision that is already yielding tangible benefits across infrastructure, security, energy and agriculture.
“When candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood before us during the 2023 campaign, he made specific commitments to Northern Nigeria. The north, believing in President Tinubu’s vision, voted strongly for him, contributing to over 60% of Tinubu’s winning votes,” the governor said.
He noted that the event, themed ‘Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Unity’, was not convened for “empty rhetoric” but to honestly evaluate the performance of the federal government.
According to him, Tinubu’s administration has shown steady progress despite daunting economic and security challenges.
“Today, we gather not for empty rhetoric, but to examine those promises and assess the level of progress so far. What we find is an administration that has delivered meaningful results for our region despite facing significant national challenges. I make bold to say that the evidence of progress is visible across our region,” Yahaya said.
“In 2027, we must reward performance and hard work, and by that measure, President Tinubu has earned our continued support.”
Yahaya described the alliance between the north and south-west as a stabilising force for Nigeria’s unity and recalled the words of the late Sardauna of Sokoto: “The North’s strength lies in its unity with all Nigeria”.
PROJECTS IN THE NORTH
He cited a number of federal projects to show the president’s commitment to northern development.
These include the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressway, the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, rehabilitation of the Kaduna refinery, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, and continuation of drilling activities in the Kolmani oilfields.
“These projects promise to bring industrial growth and energy security to Northern Nigeria,” the governor said, adding that the administration’s renewed hope agenda is gradually transforming long-standing ambitions into reality,” he said.
Beyond legacy projects, Yahaya pointed to emerging initiatives such as the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, inter-state road networks, and agriculture value chain investments targeting northern states.
He said ongoing expansion and upgrade of healthcare infrastructure are also indications of deliberate policies to uplift the well-being of the northern population.
The governor lauded the federal government’s efforts in tackling insecurity in the north, saying over “300 bandit kingpins and terrorist commanders” have been killed through coordinated operations and improved intelligence gathering.
He welcomed the recent creation of the federal ministry of livestock development, which he described as a generational breakthrough in modernising Nigeria’s pastoral economy.
The governor also acknowledged renewed federal interventions to address the out-of-school children crisis, particularly through engagement with state governments, traditional rulers and international development partners.
He admitted that the economic reforms undertaken by the administration — including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the exchange rate — have brought “debilitating side effects”, but insisted the policies were necessary to stabilise the economy in the long term.
While calling for continued support for Tinubu, Yahaya emphasised that development is a collective responsibility and urged northern stakeholders to complement federal efforts through local investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare.
He said traditional and religious leaders must also sustain their roles in community mobilisation and peacebuilding, while civil society and the private sector must stay constructively engaged.
The SABMF, a non-political and non-religious organisation, was founded in 2009 to honour the legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late premier of northern Nigeria.
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