By Zainab Rauf The Arewa Youth Alliance for Progress (AYAP) has called for a joint presidential ticket featuring Oyo State Gove...
By Zainab Rauf
The Arewa Youth Alliance for Progress (AYAP) has called for a joint presidential ticket featuring Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed (Kauran Bauchi) ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Friday, the group said its decision followed “wide consultations and critical reflections” on the nation’s worsening socio-economic and security challenges under the current administration.
“At this crucial time in our nation's history, Nigeria stands at a crossroads,” AYAP stated. “The current administration has, unfortunately, failed to deliver on key promises of economic revitalization and security.”
The group lamented the country's "worsening economic hardship, skyrocketing inflation, alarming unemployment rates, and deepening poverty," accusing the federal government of pursuing “incoherent, short-sighted” policies disconnected from the realities of ordinary Nigerians.
AYAP also decried the persistent insecurity plaguing various parts of the country. “From the terror in the North, kidnappings in the Middle Belt, to violent crimes in the South, the federal government has shown a disturbing inability to protect lives and property,” it said.
Calling for a Southern-Northern alliance to “heal and rebuild the nation,” the youth group emphasized that Engr. Seyi Makinde and Senator Bala Mohammed possess the vision, competence, and national appeal required to unite Nigeria and lead it to recovery.
“It is essential to note that the South must complete its constitutionally and morally recognized eight-year tenure,” the group added, arguing that justice, fairness, and equity demand that power remains in the South come 2027.
Praising Makinde’s "uncommon competence, integrity, and vision" as well as Mohammed’s "statesmanship and nationalistic leadership," AYAP urged Nigerians, youth groups, women’s organizations, civil society, and progressive political actors to rally behind the proposed ticket.
“Nigeria deserves better. Nigeria can be better. It is time to restore the dreams of our founding fathers,” the statement, signed by AYAP convener Zakariyyah Abubakar, concluded.
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