The group, named the Nigerian People’s Consultative Political Forum (North), is made up of prominent northern politicians who are not currently in government.
We had a group of people who started meeting with like minds, asking how we should approach this, what the issues are,” Lawal said. “We call this the Nigerian People’s Consultative Political Forum, North, in which almost every significant northern politician who is not in government attends our meetings.
The idea is that we get together and bring unity to this north. There is disunity among us, and we analyse what this disunity means, what causes it, and how we can ameliorate it.
The forum has agreed that the north must vote as a bloc in 2027, and the eventual choice of candidate will depend on their grasp of the region’s challenges.
We must vote as a bloc. If we don’t vote as a bloc, we will not be able to achieve our goals. That’s our understanding as a way forward. Now, whoever eventually emerges, we will only support somebody who understands the problems facing the north and will present them to him, whether the person is a northerner or a southerner, even if he’s from heaven,
I supported Labour Party’s Peter Obi in 2023, i may not back him again, the parameters used to evaluate our candidate in 2023 are going to be different this time.
Peter Obi was the true winner”of the 2023 election but the new political strategy is not to be tied to any one individual. “
Eventually, we just decided that we can only pursue this if we are in one solid political party. And we all agree this solid political party can only be the ADC
At the national level, Lawal named former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as among those still in active contention, adding that others are yet to declare their interest.