Bashir Ahmad, a former media aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has said the North-West will play a decisive role in determining the outcome of the 2027 presidential election.

Ahmad made the statement on Wednesday while reacting to a post by an X user, @Minikothe3rd, who argued that Nigeria’s next president after President Bola Tinubu should come from the North-East in 2031.

The user cited the regional origins of former Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari, both of whom hailed from the North-West, before suggesting that the North-East should produce the president in 2031.

“Late President Musa Yar’adua was a Northwesterner.

“Late President Muhammadu Buhari was a Northwesterner.

“After President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, like my Brother Waspee said, we should rally behind the North East. 2031 should be for the North East,” the user wrote.

In his response, Ahmad urged politicians nursing presidential ambitions for the 2031 election to begin building meaningful relationships with the North-West, citing the region’s voting population and political influence.

In a post on X, the former presidential aide described the North-West as a major political force with a longstanding influence on Nigeria’s electoral outcomes.

“The North-West is a major political force, with a substantial voting population and a long history of influencing national electoral outcomes.

“For anyone nursing a presidential ambition for 2031, whether from the North-East or North-Central, the time to begin building meaningful relationships with the North-West is now,” he wrote (Nigerian Tribune)