The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Poland, Adekunle Ayoola, has urged political parties, stakeholders and Nigerians to uphold fairness, equity and mutual respect as the country begins preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Ayoola, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the presidency should remain in the Southern region in 2027, arguing that this would preserve the existing political understanding of rotating power between the North and South.
According to him, while rotational presidency is not a constitutional right guaranteed to any region, it remains a political convention intended to promote balance, inclusiveness and a sense of belonging among Nigerians.
“As we approach 2027, my position is clear: the presidency should remain in the South for the 2027 presidential election, maintaining the existing political understanding of regional rotation,” Ayoola stated.
He clarified that advocating rotation should not amount to limiting the constitutional freedom of political parties to choose their candidates or Nigerians’ right to vote for whoever they prefer.
“By ‘rotation,’ I do not mean that any region has an automatic constitutional entitlement to the presidency, nor that voters or political parties should be restricted in exercising their democratic choices,” he said.
Ayoola proposed that the principle should instead be treated as a negotiated political understanding involving Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones North-West, North-East, North-Central, South-West, South-East and South-South alongside political parties, civil society groups, traditional rulers, community leaders and other stakeholders.
“No region should be treated as an outsider or permanently excluded from the conversation,” he stressed.
He suggested that the political arrangement should favour the South in 2027, followed by the North in the next cycle and subsequently the South-East when power returns to the Southern region.
Explaining his proposal, Ayoola said, “2027 South continues. Thereafter North. Subsequently South-East.”
He added that after the 2027 Southern presidency, the next rotation should favour the North, while the South-East should receive “serious and genuine consideration” when the presidency later returns to the South. He noted, however, that the South-West and South-South would continue to have legitimate aspirations in subsequent political cycles.
Ayoola maintained that rotational politics should be a tool for building consensus rather than restricting democratic participation.
“Political parties remain free to nominate candidates from any part of the country, Nigerians remain free to vote for the candidate of their choice, and no region possesses an automatic constitutional claim to the presidency,” he said.
He argued that the priority should be to develop a fair, transparent and widely accepted political understanding that would assure every part of the country that its interests and aspirations would be respected.
“This is not about entitlement or exclusion. It is about fairness, inclusion, balance, and national cohesion,” he said.
As political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 elections, Ayoola called on politicians and other stakeholders to embrace dialogue and consensus rather than confrontation.
“We are once again on the political field. Let us engage rather than disengage, dialogue rather than divide, and seek consensus rather than confrontation. We should be building bridges, not burning them,” he stated.
He further urged political actors to place Nigeria’s interests above personal, regional and party ambitions.
“Nigeria is bigger than any individual, region, or political party. Our responsibility is to build a political culture founded on fairness, inclusion, mutual respect, and national unity,” Ayoola added.
