Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has said no northerner should contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the South must be allowed to complete its eight-year tenure in line with the country’s unwritten rotational presidency arrangement

Mr. Fintiri made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday.

The governor, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, said although the constitution allows any eligible Nigerian to contest for any office, fairness and national unity demand that the presidency remain in the South.

Mr Fintiri noted that before his defection from the PDP, no party member had formally informed him of plans to contest the 2027 presidential election.

“What else do we want as a state? We won’t force anybody to be a presidential candidate, which means we will continue to support our people to play local politics.

The governor also maintained that his relationship with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains cordial despite their political differences.

“I still have a good relationship; there is nothing that has gone bad. It is just that everybody has taken their political ways. I am today in APC; they are in another party,” he said.

Reiterating his position, Mr Fintiri stressed that the stability of the country should be prioritised in Nigeria’s political calculations.

“It is still the turn of the South to complete. A northerner has no business at the moment to vie for the office of the President.

“If there is no other candidate, we should support Bola Tinubu, GCFR, to complete his tenure. After all, he has done so much. He initiated good policies that are working, that are showing us light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.