Akume Says 1999 Power Rotation Pact Backs Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election Bid

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, says the 1999 agreement to rotate power between the North and the South supports President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

He spoke on Saturday, October 10, at an APC North-central rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Akume recalled that political leaders agreed in Kaduna in 1999 that power would stay eight years in the South and eight years in the North. He argued that Tinubu should be allowed to finish eight years, and that the North should produce the next President in 2031.

As grand patron of the North Central Grassroots Mobilisation Network for Tinubu/Shettima 2027, Akume moved a motion adopting Tinubu as the region’s sole presidential candidate. Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule, who chairs the North-central governors, seconded it. The six APC governors of Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Niger, Kwara and Kogi, along with party leaders, backed the endorsement and pledged to work for the re-election of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Akume listed the removal of the petrol subsidy, higher allocations to states and local governments, and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) among the administration’s key policies. APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda pointed to roads and political appointments given to the region and urged voters there to reciprocate at the polls, which he put at January 16, 2027.

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu was special guest of honour and conveyed the President’s greetings, stressing security, national unity and economic prosperity.

Sources: Premium Times, ThisDay, Blueprint and New Telegraph, October 10 and 11, 2026.