Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national forum of former legislators has adopted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as their sole candidate for the election.
Speaking at the Southern Summit 2025 of the former legislators, titled “National Unity: Bedrock of Nation Building,” in Abeokuta, the state capital, the convener and Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed that the clarity of the President’s vision is why the administration has been addressing the most challenging reforms from day one. He noted that the Federal Government of Nigeria is no longer paying inflated subsidy claims that benefit only a small minority of our citizens.
“Every Nigerian child today is guaranteed a tertiary education courtesy of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). With the signing into law of the tax reforms, President Bola Tinubu has ushered in a new era of economic justice, built on fairness, accountability, and national purpose. These are not the actions of a politician thinking about the next election. They are acts of extraordinary statesmanship by a leader whose highest concern is the fortune of the Nigerian people and the fate of the next generation”.
The former Speaker of Federal House of Representative explained that amid the effort to mobilise the resources of Nigeria and galvanise the confidence and capacity of all to achieve the highest promises of the nation’s founding, it has become evident that there are those who, for the sake of politics and ambition, remain determined to turn people’s eyes away from their destination, stressing that to achieve this, they exploit the fault lines of our history to sow hatred and division when more than ever before, the country need to engage one another in goodwill and brotherhood.
Gbajabiamila further stated that President Tinubu is a leader who is interested in the next generation but not the next election.
He urged former legislators to galvanise support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition and work together as a formidable force to move the country forward.
Meanwhile, in the communiqu issued at the end of the summit, the forum commended the President Tinubu-led federal government’s innovative reforms, which included, among other things, the establishment of Regional Development Commissions, Local Government Autonomy, Student Loans Scheme and Deregulation of the Electricity Sector, and called for greater collaboration among State Governments and support from Citizens alike to enable the realisation of the great potentials of these reforms.
The forum adopted the President as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, emphasising that as a body, ”we will always align ourselves to those things that will promote the unity, peace and prosperity of our dear Country Nigeria”.
In the communique signed by Hon. Samson Osagie, the forum also commended the patriotic courage of the Northern Caucus in calling for a Southerner, President Tinubu, to complete the eight-year, two-term tenure of the country’s leadership.
The communique reads in part; ”We affirm that it is the 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 Ahmed 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.
”We call on all Nigerians to pursue this course to promote National unity and firm the foundation of Nation building.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is anchored on the unassailable belief that while it is not in our power to change the past, it is our obligation to do the hard work today so that our tomorrow can be better than all our yesteryears.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda flows from our president’s belief that yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. As such, we must build for ourselves and for our children a nation where everyone can succeed by the strength of their endeavours, where optimism is not reserved only for the privileged and powerful, and where peace and prosperity are the birthright of all our citizens.”
Speaking earlier, the national coordinator, Hon. Rahpeal Igbokwe, explained that the summit will once again provide an opportunity for reunion, networking, and most importantly, for the former legislators to voice their concerns on critical national issues.
“As a body we are committed to issues that will promote peace & unity of our dear Country and also entrench democracy, As we gather today to deliberate on the theme, ‘National Unity, Bedrock of Nation Building,’ it is our expectation that we will rise from this summit outcomes that will unite us the more and promote the peace, Unity and prosperity of Nigeria”.
He said, “The forum notes with delight some innovative reforms of the government of the day, which include: the establishment of Regional Development Commissions, deregulation of the Electricity Sector to give states powers to generate and regulate electricity, Financial Autonomy for Local Governments, Call for State Police and the Student Loan Scheme (NELFUND). All these have great potential to drive even development in all regions of the country, and bring development to the grassroots. We therefore call on greater co-operation from state governments to complement Federal Government actions”.
Igbokwe urged the Federal Government to consider most of the Former Legislators for appointment, and that post-service benefits be instituted for them, as applicable to heads of other Arms of Government.
Among those present at the occasion were the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; former Speakers of the House of Representatives, Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, respectively. Also present was the former Senate Leader, Senator Ndoma Egba, alongside Senators Adegbenga Kaka and Lekan Mustapha, among others.
