A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rabi’u Sulaiman Bichi, has called on Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term, saying his re-election is necessary to sustain ongoing reforms and preserve the country’s rotational power-sharing arrangement.
According to him, President Tinubu’s second term is justified not only by the administration’s performance but also by the need to preserve the informal understanding of power rotation between the North and South, which he described as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s political stability.
Bichi, who made the statement at a strategic meeting of Renewed Hope Ambassadors coordinators in Kano, also cautioned against abandoning the informal zoning arrangement, describing it as an important stabilising factor in Nigeria’s political system.
The APC chieftain in Kano claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suffered electoral setbacks in 2015 and 2023 partly because it disregarded the power-sharing arrangement.
“There is a wise saying: we learn from experience, but we must not learn only from our own experience. We must learn from the mistakes of others,” he stated.
“Let us not be led into that situation again,” he cautioned, urging the North and South to continue honouring what he described as the “gentleman’s agreement” designed to promote inclusivity, fairness and unity in governance.
He, however, noted that although the current economic reforms have caused temporary hardship, they are necessary to reposition the country for long-term growth and prosperity.
“Sustainable national development is impossible without policy consistency,” Bichi said, stressing that countries that achieve transformative progress sustain their programmes across electoral cycles rather than abandoning them whenever leadership changes.
He said the Tinubu administration was implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda through reforms in the economy, infrastructure, healthcare, education, energy, security and public service delivery.
Bichi urged APC coordinators and supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation, educate citizens on government policies and counter misinformation with facts.
Bichi further urged political and religious leaders to draw lessons from the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) era and other periods when political miscalculations contributed to national instability.
He expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s vision and called on Nigerians to support the Renewed Hope Agenda, which he said would ultimately deliver greater prosperity and development to the country.
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