The League of Northern Democrats (LND) currently being led by the former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau has flagged off some moves to transform into a national platform in its bid to midwife a political system that would unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed that the League, which originally started as a movement of like-minded northern political warhorses, who are largely disenchanted with the governance model under President Tinubu.
After their initial meetings, which succeeded in harnessing political bigwigs across the North-West, North-East, and North-Central. It was learnt that the group has resolved to expand its focus and engage Southern political interests that would enable it to raise a formidable party that would unseat President Tinubu in 2027.
Sources informed the Nigerian Tribune that the plan is to expand the scope across the Southern States, while a special focus would be placed on the South West, the base of the incumbent President.
It was gathered that stakeholders in the group had calculated that unless a formidable pan-Nigerian political structure is put in place ahead of 2027, Tinubu would be too strong to contend with.
A source close to the situation said of the thinking of the political bigwigs: “With the president’s control of the political structure, the ruling party, and the inroads he has made into the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it would be difficult to unseat him but leaving him to continue would mean Nigeria would be enthroning a hegemony that could dictate the pace of its politics the way it likes.
“If we fought against military rule as a nation, the essence of that is to avoid the rule of one man. But Tinubu’s firm hold on the political firmament may take us back into the danger of one-man rule.”
Former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido said in an interview with Saturday Tribune that Tinubu was already becoming an emperor, who would be difficult to dislodge in 2027, a sentiment largely shared by enthusiasts of the LND.
It was learnt that the LND leadership had concluded plans to woo political figures from southern states, in their determination to build a Pan-Nigerian platform meant to wrestle the presidency from Tinubu in 2027.
It was also gathered that a special focus is being placed on the South West given the zone’s voting strength and the propensity to ensure bloc votes. Tinubu’s influence in the zone was also taken into consideration, with sources disclosing that the group would prefer to raise a candidate from the South West to fight Tinubu.
With the near collapse of the plot to lure ex-President Goodluck Jonathan into the presidential race, due to the constitutional constraint that bars a vice president who succeeds his late boss from seeking office more than once, a condition Jonathan had fulfilled in 2011, it was learnt that the group is looking towards raising a candidate from the South West.
Credit: News Express