Two of President Bola Tinubu’s ambassador-designates, Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri have declared that returning power to Northern Nigeria after only one southern term would be unpatriotic and a betrayal of the rotation pact that has anchored Nigeria’s democracy since 1999.
They added that it would also be a slight against the man who was the chief architect of the North’s return to power in 2015.
Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Fani-Kayode, and Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Omokri, made the declaration in a joint statement on Saturday, endorsing Tinubu for re-election in 2027.
The two allies argued that the North had enjoyed two full, uninterrupted terms under former President Muhammadu Buhari, with southern support, and that equity demanded the South be allowed a commensurate two terms before any power shift.
“We view it as unpatriotic and inimical to the unity, equilibrium, and progress of Nigeria for anyone to even conceive of power returning to Northern Nigeria after only one term of four years, during which it was domiciled in Southern Nigeria,” they said.
They noted that the South’s current hold on power was not incidental but deliberate.
They added, “Not just in Southern Nigeria, but in the specific hands of the man who was the chief architect for the return of power to the North in 2015.”
On the principle of reciprocity, they were unambiguous.
“We are of the opinion that one good turn deserves another and that one good term deserves another,” they said.
The statement described the gentleman’s agreement on rotation as the bedrock of Nigeria’s post-military stability.
“It is in the best interest of the stability, unity, and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in keeping with the Gentleman’s Agreement which ushered in our Fourth Republic in 1999, after sixteen years of turbulence and political instability, for there to be a balanced and orderly rotation of power in Nigeria between the North and the South,” they said.
They added that Northern Nigeria, having “completed and made full and unfettered use of two terms of four years under the Muhammadu Buhari administration,” had exhausted its turn in the rotation and must now yield.
On performance, the statement credited Tinubu with 12 consecutive cycles of GDP growth and trade surpluses, saying he had added “$67 billion to our economy” and made “Nigeria the sixth largest contributor to global GDP growth in 2025.”
The designates also pointed to infrastructure under the Renewed Hope Agenda as proof of a unifying presidency. They called on all Nigerians to back the president’s re-election.
“Finally, we call on all Nigerians, irrespective of region, religion, and communion, to join us and queue behind the present Presidency and future candidacy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda, which has seen infrastructural efforts to unite Nigeria, including the ₦15 trillion 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the ₦13 trillion 1068-kilometre Illela-Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, and bridging the gap between the Southeast and the entire North through the 465-kilometre Trans-Saharan Road being constructed at a cost of an estimated $750 million.
“If we all extend the right hand of fellowship to President Bola Tinubu, we will, with the help of God, collectively see Nigeria become a $1 trillion economy by 2031,” they said.
Citing Switzerland as a model, they argued that structured power-sharing had kept the Alpine nation stable and conflict-free for over two centuries.
“The reason Switzerland has been stable, peaceful, and prosperous for the last 211 years is because that Alpine nation wisely introduced power sharing amongst its multiethnic population and has not seen any conflict since 1815,” they said.
The statement ended on a rallying note. “To re-elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a task that must be done,” they declared.
The PUNCH