Afenifere, Ohanaeze, PANDEF urge parties to field southern candidates in 2027

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has urged political parties to zone their presidential tickets to southern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 election.

The forum made the call on Tuesday during a joint press conference in Abuja. The group comprises socio-cultural organisations including Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

The meeting was attended by Oladipo Olaitan, factional leader of Afenifere and chairman of the forum; Bitrus Pogu, president of the Middle Belt Forum; Senator John Azuta-Mbata, president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Ambassador Godknows Igali, leader of PANDEF.

Delegates from member states and the National Christian Elders Forum led by Samuel Gani also attended the meeting.

Addressing journalists, Olaitan recalled the forum’s position ahead of the 2023 election, noting that zoning the presidency to the south after the eight-year tenure of Muhammadu Buhari remains important for national stability.

“We thus admonished all political parties to clearly zone the position of the President of the nation to the South in the interest of national political stability, particularly that such zoning arrangement had been the trend and emerging as part of the national democratic culture since 1999,” he said.

“In the above regards, political parties now at their congresses and conventions are advised that their Presidential candidates emerge from Southern Nigeria,” he added.

The forum also expressed concern over the country’s worsening security situation, adding that large parts of Nigeria remain ungoverned due to the absence of security personnel.

Olaitan said: “SMBLF, as well as Nigerians at large, are alarmed at the renewed, unabated state of insecurity in the nation.

“The situation is so worrisome as more than 70 per cent of the national territorial space is ungoverned and unmanned by security personnel.”

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the strength of officers under arms, particularly in terms of numbers, is not commensurate with the enormity of the problem.”

The forum reiterated its support for the establishment of state and community policing as part of measures to address insecurity.

“As a minimum action and now the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be amended to ensure state and community police as now ably canvassed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We must have state Police now,” the forum stated.

Olaitan said the forum had constituted a 12-member committee of security experts to contribute to discussions on the constitutional framework for state and community policing.

“SMBLF insists on the restructuring of the Federation to give the federating ethnic nationalities, and constituent states the required autonomy in tandem with true federalism on which Nigeria was built by our founding fathers,” he said.

The forum urged the federal government to address economic hardship in the country and also called for stronger support for local refineries and measures to reduce the importation of refined petroleum products.

“Furthermore, the meeting calls on the Federal Government to make redoubled efforts to tackle the suffering of Nigerians in view of the prevailing global economic situation.

“To this effect, we recommend more focused support for local refineries of crude oil and clear programmes to stop the importation of refined products,” the stated,

The forum said it remains committed to promoting national development and encouraging citizens to participate actively in governance.