2027: Over 600 Northern Professors Endorse Tinubu For Second Term, Say Support Not Blank Cheque

More than 600 senior academics drawn from public universities in the 19 Northern states have endorsed the second-term bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The endorsement formed the key highlight of a closed-door meeting convened by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari, for the academics to deliberate on the political future of Nigeria.

The engagement was held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Kaduna, at the weekend.

According to the Daily Trust report, our correspondent reports that journalists were not allowed into the hall at the commencement of the meeting but were later allowed to witness the reading of the communiqué issued at the end of the deliberations.

Those at the meeting include the convener, Alhaji Ibrahim Masari, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani; Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum and his Gombe counterpart, Inuwa Yahaya.

Others include the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of Housing, Muttaqha Rabe Darma and former governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari.

A reliable source at the meeting said most of the public-owned universities in the 19 northern states were represented and opportunities were given from each of the zones to speak. While the Vice Chancellor of Kaduna State University, Prof Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, spoke on behalf of his colleagues from the North West, the Chief Librarian of the Federal University Lafia, Prof Abdulrazaq Baba Abdulrahman, spoke on behalf of the North Central and the Chairman Governing Council of the Federal College of Agriculture, Gwoza, spoke on behalf of the North East.

Prof Mainasara Yakubu Kurfi of the Bayero University, Kano, whom a source named as being in attendance, however, denied attending when contacted.

Vice Chancellor of Kaduna State University, Prof Musa, who read the communiqué, said the academics critically examined the performance of the Tinubu administration since May 2023, as well as the economic, political, security and social conditions in the country, particularly in Northern Nigeria.

He said the scholars acknowledged that Tinubu inherited an economy facing fiscal, monetary and structural challenges, alongside insecurity, infrastructure deficits and human capital gaps and that some of the administration’s reforms had increased hardship for Nigerians.

“While these reforms have imposed substantial short-term hardship through higher living and transportation costs and inflationary pressures, we also acknowledge that they have altered government revenues and public finance,” they said.

However, they said the administration had recorded progress in areas including education financing, agriculture, infrastructure, business support, compressed natural gas, investment and the digital economy.

After their deliberations, the academics stated: “We resolved to express our support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in the 2027 presidential election.”

They, however, said their support should not be interpreted as unconditional.

“Our support should not be interpreted as a blank check,” they said, urging the government to listen to citizens, respond to legitimate criticism and address high food and transportation costs, unemployment and insecurity.

The academics also called for an improved security strategy combining military operations, intelligence gathering, effective policing, community engagement and economic opportunities and urged the government to increase investment in agriculture, education, healthcare, roads, electricity, irrigation and other critical infrastructure in the North.

Meeting Focuses On Mobilising Support For Tinubu

The invitation letter to the meeting sighted by Daily Trust showed that soliciting the active support of the academics for Tinubu’s re-election was a major objective.

The invitation, signed on behalf of the organisers, described the event as an “interactive session of senior academics from Northern Nigeria and selected government functionaries” under the theme: “Consolidating the Renewed Hope Agenda: Three Years of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Achievements and the Road to 2027.”

It said the meeting had two objectives: to assess the administration’s performance and to “secure the endorsement and active support of the academic community for the re-election of Mr President in the 2027 General Elections.”

“The purpose of the gathering is therefore not open-ended debate but mobilisation,” the invitation stated.

It added that attendance was voluntary and encouraged only academics who were favourably disposed to the objective to attend.

Daily Trust gathered that the organisers made arrangements for logistics and transportation for participants. A senior staff member of one of the universities said it was expected that participants would be reimbursed.

“Of course, you should expect all those who attended the stakeholders’ engagement to be reimbursed for their logistics and transportation. You don’t expect them to just attend and leave with empty hands,” the source said.