The Arewa group has announced that the nineteen northern states will reveal their preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections in April this year.

The group said the declaration would be made during the northern convention scheduled for April.

Briefing journalists in Abuja on Friday about plans for the 2026 Sardauna Memorial Day, the northern organisation under the Rebuild Arewa Initiative for Development (RAID) said the region faces “deep and interrelated challenges that can no longer be addressed with silence, denial or fragmented efforts.”

Highlighting the worsening insecurity across Northern Nigeria, the group revealed plans to hold a major regional convention aimed at crafting a unified strategy on security, development, and inclusive governance ahead of the 2027 elections.

The convention, the group explained, “would serve as a non-partisan platform for Northern stakeholders to collectively address the region’s pressing socio-economic, political and security challenges.”

Saturday gathered that RAID has reached out to all northern groups to ensure a uniform position on the 2027 polls during the April convention.

Reading from a prepared statement, RAID’s Director of Communications and Publicity, Comrade Bitako Abubakar Umar, said the convention “would bring together political, traditional and religious leaders, as well as youth and women groups, civil society organisations, professionals and business leaders.”

He added that participants will “work towards articulating a common position on restoring peace, tackling poverty and unemployment, reviving education and strengthening governance across the North.”

Umar explained that the initiative aims to produce “a people-driven roadmap that will guide leadership choices and policy direction in the run-up to the 2027 polls,” while reaffirming the North’s commitment to unity, constructive engagement, and national development.

He warned that ongoing insecurity, characterised by banditry, terrorism, farmer-herder clashes, and kidnappings, “poses a grave threat not only to the region but also to Nigeria’s overall stability and prosperity.”

Fielding questions from journalists, Umar attributed the insecurity to “weak prosecution of criminal elements, poor governance and failure to effectively implement key social policies, particularly in the education sector.”

He lamented the culture of impunity, noting that “reports of past commissions of inquiry were rarely followed by prosecutions,” and criticised ransom payments to kidnappers, saying they “reinforce inequality and incentivise criminality.”

Umar further blamed poor implementation of the Universal Basic Education policy for the rising number of out-of-school children, many of whom “are easily recruited by extremist and criminal groups operating in the region.”

Beyond security, he said political interference, historical injustices, and selective remembrance of national leaders “have continued to fuel discontent in the North,” emphasising the need for inclusive dialogue and recognition of shared sacrifices in nation-building.

Earlier, RAID’s Secretary, Comrade Kabiru Duhu, called on Northern Nigeria to emulate the leadership philosophy of Sir Ahmadu Bello, describing his legacy as “critical to addressing insecurity, poverty and weak institutions.”

He recalled that the Sardauna of Sokoto, Northern Nigeria’s Premier from 1954 to 1966, was “widely regarded as a visionary statesman who prioritised education, unity, institutional development and moral leadership.”

Duhu noted that the Sardauna’s administration “established landmark institutions, including Ahmadu Bello University, alongside teachers’ colleges, scholarship schemes and agricultural initiatives that drove economic growth and social cohesion in the region.”

He added that the Sardauna’s “inclusive governance style, personal integrity and long-term planning remain relevant today.”

They concluded that Northern Nigeria’s path to stability and prosperity “lies in consciously adapting the principles and values exemplified by Sir Ahmadu Bello.”