Ahead of 2027: Forum insists presidency must go South

An advocacy group, the South-North Progressive Forum (SNPF), has called on all registered political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to zone their 2027 presidential tickets to the southern part of Nigeria.

Chairman of the group, Festus Onyekwulisi, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja during a press conference to launch a nationwide campaign for a southern president in 2027.

Onyekwulisi urged the National Assembly to pass legislation to formalise the rotation of elective offices in the country, stressing that zoning the presidency to the South would help correct historical power imbalances and strengthen national unity.

He noted that since Nigeria’s Independence, leaders from the North had held power for about 24 years, while the South had produced presidents for only 18 years. According to him, allowing the South another four-year term in 2027 would reinforce fairness, equity, and federal character in governance.

“As the 2027 election draws nearer, the SNPF is positioning itself as a potent, issue-based movement determined to ensure that the next election is fought on the tenets of equity and justice. This is not about mere politics, it is about national integration, equity, justice, and fairness,” Onyekwulisi said.

He revealed that beyond advocacy, the SNPF had launched a grassroots mobilisation plan to secure at least 10 million votes for the emergence of a southern presidential candidate. The group is also running sensitisation campaigns to combat voter apathy and electoral malpractice ahead of the 2027 polls.

“There must be conscious mobilisation to ensure that millions of citizens across the southern states as well as the 19 northern states actively buy into this idea. We are quietly leading the building of a national consensus that would impact the voting pattern in 2027,” he added.

Onyekwulisi further cautioned politicians against exploiting insecurity, hunger, religion, and ethnicity to win votes, stressing that Nigerians would decide their future based on conscience.

He also disclosed that the forum is introducing a new political philosophy, termed ‘Rightful Defection’, to allow non-partisan citizens to openly support a southern candidate of their choice in 2027.