Student leaders from tertiary institutions across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory have thrown their weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.
The students, drawn from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, announced their endorsement on Tuesday during the inauguration of the students’ wing of the Arewa for Asiwaju movement.
Coordinator of the students’ wing and President of the Students’ Union Government of Bayero University, Kano, Abdulmudallib Sheriff, said the decision was driven by what the group described as the Tinubu administration’s interventions in education, student financing, skills development and youth empowerment.
Sheriff said the group would move beyond the declaration to begin coordinated political mobilisation for Tinubu across campuses and communities in the north.
“We are for Asiwaju. Our support is not passive or ceremonial; it is organised, deliberate, and ready for action. We will take this message to our campuses and communities. We will mobilise, communicate, and organise,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani linked the students’ support to what he described as the administration’s achievements in education, infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture.
Sani particularly highlighted the Technical and Vocational Education and Training initiative and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, saying both programmes were relevant to young people in northern Nigeria.
“Through TVET and NELFUND, the president has done a lot for the north. Available programme data indicate that Northern Nigeria accounts for over 60 per cent of beneficiaries under key interventions. That is measurable impact,” the governor said.
He, however, urged the student leaders to conduct their political mobilisation around verifiable records rather than attacks on opposition figures.
“Do not campaign with insults; campaign with evidence. Do not answer criticism with abuse; answer it with facts,” Sani said.
The governor also argued that political empowerment of young Nigerians would have limited impact without corresponding opportunities in education, the economy and the digital space.
“We cannot meaningfully empower young Nigerians politically while leaving them educationally, economically and digitally excluded,” he said.
The Director-General of Arewa for Asiwaju, Muhammad Abubakar, said the movement would base its campaign for Tinubu’s re-election on the administration’s record.
Abubakar said students in the region were prepared to participate actively in the campaign and mobilisation efforts ahead of the 2027 election.
“President Tinubu has already delivered, and the record speaks for itself. The students of Arewa are ready to stand with President Tinubu. We are ready to mobilise, organise, engage, and deliver,” he said.
The students’ endorsement comes amid a series of declarations of support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid by groups in northern Nigeria.
Similar endorsements have reportedly been made by northern lecturers and women Ulama.
The latest development followed a closed-door meeting convened by the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari, to discuss the country’s political direction and assess the performance of the Tinubu administration. The meeting was held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Kaduna at the weekend.
Vice Chancellor of Kaduna State University, Prof Musa, who read the communiqué of the gathering, said the academics critically examined the performance of the Tinubu administration since May 2023, as well as the economic, political, security and social conditions in the country, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
He said the scholars acknowledged that Tinubu inherited an economy facing fiscal, monetary and structural challenges, alongside insecurity, infrastructure deficits and human capital gaps and that some of the administration’s reforms had increased hardship for Nigerians.
