…Declares APC “unelectable” in 2027
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has launched a scathing attack on the Bola Tinubu administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that no northern elected official will win re-election under the APC platform in 2027.
Speaking in an interview during a television programme, Lawal accused the APC of marginalising northern Nigeria and described the party as “destructive” and incapable of delivering electoral victory in the region. He urged northern politicians seeking re-election – including sitting governors – to join the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) to have any chance of success in the next general elections.
“Which northern elected official will go to campaign on the platform of the APC this coming election? Nobody. Unless ab initio, you have no plan to win. Unless they join the ADC, they will not win”, Lawal stated.
The former SGF also accused the Tinubu administration of deliberately dismantling the development gains of the North. Citing the lack of visible infrastructure projects in the region, Lawal alleged that federal development under Tinubu has excluded the North entirely.
“There is no infrastructure work going on at any level in the north. No projects whatsoever. Maybe in their imagination – but we don’t see it,” he said, adding that the government’s actions appear “designed to destroy the North”, he stated.
His comments echoed recent allegations by former Kano state governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who last week accused the Tinubu government of marginalising the North in national infrastructure investment. Lawal, backing Kwankwaso, said the marginalisation was visible and deliberate.
“Every sensible, honest Nigerian knows that the North is being marginalised”, Lawal said. “The sense we get, as Northerners, is that if this Government can destroy what it inherited, they will do it willingly”.
The former APC chieftain said several northern governors are already in talks with the ADC ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, federal officials have pushed back against the claims. Minister of Works, David Umahi, rejected the marginalisation allegations, stating that 52% of the total length of the Tinubu administration’s top four highway projects are located in northern Nigeria – including a 756-km stretch of the Sokoto–Badagry superhighway.
Presidential Adviser, Sunday Dare also dismissed the criticism as “politically motivated”, noting that over 40 federal programmes are currently active in the North.
Despite the federal rebuttals, Lawal’s remarks highlight growing dissatisfaction within northern political circles, and underscore deepening regional tensions ahead of the 2027 polls.
