After a meeting held in Kaduna, the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) made a firm statement about the 2027 presidential election, asserting that the North, with its large population, vast land area, and unified voice, holds the power to determine the outcome of the election.
According to The Sun, in his opening remarks, the BOT Chairman, Alhaji Bashir M. Dalhatu (Wazirin Dutse), mentioned that there was increasing pressure from the region’s elders for the Forum to closely monitor the projects and programs of politicians that would positively impact Northerners as the 2027 elections approach.
Despite this focus on the upcoming election, the BOT expressed deep concern over the worsening insecurity in the North, stating that the region’s security challenges were intensifying daily. They urged the Federal Government to take swift action before the situation becomes irreparable.
Dalhatu also voiced his dissatisfaction with the displacement of indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He highlighted the fact that their ancestral lands were taken without compensation to make way for the establishment of the nation’s capital, expressing regret over the situation.
Dalhatu stated that the law establishing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja in 1976 outlined several actions that the Federal Government was supposed to take as conditions for the area to be designated as the capital. One of the key conditions, he explained, was that the indigenous people living within the area designated as the FCT should receive fair compensation and be relocated to neighboring states, which now include Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Kogi, and Kaduna.
Further talking, he said, “It has been about 50 years since that law was passed but the Federal Government has failed to adequately implement its provisions. As a matter of fact and much to the regret of fair-minded Nigerians, the indigenous people of the FCT, have been forcefully driven away from their ancestral land and rendered landless and homeless through no fault of theirs.”
