The Southern Forum of Former Legislators on Saturday urged opposition politicians to allow President Bola Tinubu to complete the South’s alloted eight years in power, declaring him their sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The forum, comprising lawmakers who have served at state, federal, and local government levels across the 17 southern states, made the declaration at its summit held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Reading the communiqué at the end of the meeting, former lawmaker and Edo State Attorney General, Mr. Samson Osagie, said the decision was based on fairness, equity and national unity.
“We commend the patriotic courage of our colleagues of the Northern Caucus in calling for the South to complete their tenure of the leadership of the country,” the communiqué read. “We affirm that it is turn of the South to complete its tenure. We posit that it is in the best interest of the South and the nation that the incumbent, President Bola Tinubu, completes the tenure of the South. Accordingly, we adopt him as the sole candidate of the South. We call on the South to support the North in 2031 to take up their tenure for the leadership of our dear country.”
The Chief of Staff to the President and National Convener of the forum, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, threw his weight behind the decision, describing Tinubu as “an exceptional and generational leader” whose bold reforms are laying the foundation for long-term prosperity.
“The argument for President Tinubu to complete his eight-year term has been said loud and clear. I am in support of this call, because it can’t be faulted,” Gbajabiamila said. “For the sake of unity, equity and fairness, President Tinubu deserves another term. Beyond this argument, the President is also taking bold and daring steps to reset the nation for a greater tomorrow and therefore deserves the support of all to complete this good job.”
He highlighted reforms such as subsidy removal, deregulation of the electricity sector, and the introduction of the students’ loan scheme, stressing that despite the pain, the policies were already yielding economic dividends. According to him, portfolio investment flows rose by 67 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, while the World Bank confirmed that Nigeria’s economy grew at its fastest pace in a decade in 2024.
Gbajabiamila added: “Nigeria’s fiscal deficit narrowed sharply from 5.4% of GDP in 2023 to 3.0% in 2024, driven by a surge in Federation revenues.
This shows the country is firmly on the path of growth.”
The summit, themed “National Unity: Bedrock for Nation Building,” was chaired by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, and attended by former House Speaker Patricia Etteh, ex-Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, former Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Coordinator of Forum of Former Northern Legislators, Rufai Chachangi, Governor Dapo Abiodun, ministers, and other past lawmakers.
Governor Abiodun praised Tinubu as a visionary leader who “deserves another term,” while Nnamani urged the ex-lawmakers to continue rallying support for a united Nigeria.
National Coordinator of the forum, Raphael Igbokwe, pledged the lawmakers’ support for Tinubu’s re-election bid but also demanded payment of severance allowances owed to some former federal legislators.
The forum concluded by vowing to always align itself with initiatives that promote unity, peace and prosperity.
