Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, a close ally of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has said that the disunity among northern leaders ahead of the 2027 general election must be making President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “smile” at the speculated gang-up from the region against him.

Kofa, who represents Kiru/Bebeji constituency of Kano State on the platform of the NNPP, stated this yesterday on Channels TV while responding to questions on whether the North was united against the president following the opposition coalition’s adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for 2027.

He argued that portraying the North as united against Tinubu was misleading. “For those saying they are going to defeat him, he must be sitting somewhere smiling because he can see how disunited we are. It is also wrong to make it look as if the North is united against him. He is not an orphan in the North,” he said.

Kofa added that “When you say there is a gang-up or the North is uniting, we should stop deceiving ourselves. The North has always united against itself. Where is the unity? What we have always done is gang up to pull down anyone who rises from the region. This is what has been happening.”

The lawmaker, who has met Tinubu twice in recent weeks, said despite the North’s numerical strength and abundant resources, internal divisions have weakened its influence.

“Every day we are fighting ourselves on national television. Is it that there are no leaders in the north? Traditional rulers? Nineteen northern governors? Who are those that we should call our leaders? Pouring mud at themselves in a public glare?” he asked.

On power rotation, Kofa dismissed claims that the North had been shortchanged since 1999, insisting that the South deserved to complete its eight years after late President Muhammadu Buhari’s two terms.

“I feel terribly embarrassed when I see knowledgeable northerners of high standing in the society saying that the north has been shortchanged in terms of rotation of power. The north hasn’t been shortchanged. The north has had power for 39 and a half years. The south had 28 years. Nigeria did not start in 1999,” he said. (Daily Trust)