Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna Central, has c@ut!on£d that attempts by northern politicians to unseat the South in 2027 could rekindle separatist sentiment throughout the Southwest, Southeast, and South-South.
In an interview with reporters in Kaduna on Friday, October 9, 2026, Sani issued the w@rn!ng, contending that President Bola Tinubu ought to be permitted to finish the South’s share of the presidency before the North regains control.
Respecting power rotation would help maintain national unity and avoid new political t£nsions, according to the former lawmaker, who is running for reelection to the Senate. He thinks the North can pursue its goal of becoming president in 2031 without upsetting the status quo.
Sani contended that since the North had previously held the presidency for eight years, from 2015 to 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, it was appropriate for a candidate from the South to hold the office going forward.
Explaining the potential consequences of abandoning the arrangement, he said, “The d@ng£r of d!srupting this rotational idea is the fact that whatever you are doing to Tinubu for ethnic reasons, Tinubu must go.”
Additionally, he connected the possibility of having a president from the South to the decrease in separatist agitation in some Southern states.
Speaking about the South-East, Sani said, “Today, if you look at it, the ag!t@tion for Biafra has gone to the lowest point because they are hopeful that one of their own is contesting the presidency of this country.”
He c@ut!oned that upsetting the agreement might erode that feeling of political inclusion and lead to new confl!cts.
The former senator further charged that when discussing ins£cur!ty under Buhari and Tinubu, some northern politicians were using different criteria.
He argued that political leaders should be held responsible regardless of their regional affiliations, citing school @bduct!ons in Dapchi, Kankara, Jangebe, and Yauri as well as @tt@cks on educational institutions in Kaduna State.
Sani said, “We cannot address security challenges in the country when we shielded our own who failed to address the problem, and now shift blame and use it for political reasons to achieve certain political ends.”