In Nigeria, Danjuma backs Tinubu's re-election bid for 2027
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on ThisDay
Former Nigerian Defence Minister Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma has backed Bola Tinubu's re-election for 2027, a move carrying weight in the country's North-Central and North-East. Danjuma, influential among northern Christians, justifies his position by the rotation between the North and South at the head of state, according to This Day.
Retired Nigerian General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, former army chief of staff and Defence Minister, has backed President Bola Tinubu's re-election for a second term in 2027. The move could strengthen the president's electoral coalition in several northern and central states of Nigeria, notably Taraba, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau and Kaduna, the daily ThisDay reports.
According to sources cited by ThisDay, Danjuma believes southern Nigeria should be able to benefit from two consecutive four-year terms, after former president Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the North, served two terms. He considers this regional rotation would contribute to national unity and cohesion. Originally from Taraba State, the retired general retains influence among political, traditional and religious leaders in several regions of the country.
Danjuma has also supported Christian organisations and initiatives in northern Nigeria for several years. In 2019, his intervention helped mobilise part of the Christian electorate in favour of Muhammadu Buhari's re-election. The support for Tinubu comes in areas where the 2023 ticket pairing a Muslim president with a Muslim vice-president had faced resistance. Violence and population displacement also continue to fuel discontent among Christian communities towards the federal government.
The move comes as other Nigerian figures have recently expressed support for a second term for Bola Tinubu. On 5 November, Olujuwon Obasanjo, son of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, also backed his re-election (Olujuwon Obasanjo's support for Tinubu). On 7 November, young people in central Nigeria also announced their support for the incumbent president (support from young people in central Nigeria).
