The Southern Forum of Former Legislators, representing past state, federal, and local lawmakers from Nigeria’s 17 southern states, has endorsed President Bola Tinubu as the South’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, citing the need for fairness, equity, and unity in Nigeria’s political landscape.

The decision was announced in a communique read by Edo State Attorney General and former lawmaker Samson Osagie at the forum’s summit in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The group argued that Tinubu should complete an eight-year tenure to uphold the South’s turn, stating, “We affirm that it is the turn of the South to complete its tenure. It is in the best interest of the South and the entire nation that President Tinubu completes the eight-year mandate.” They urged southern unity to support Tinubu in 2027 and back the North in 2031.

The forum praised Tinubu’s reforms, including regional development commissions, the student loan scheme, and electricity sector deregulation, as steps toward national progress. Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, the forum’s national convener, called Tinubu a “generational leader” whose policies address infrastructure, food security, and insecurity, reinforcing the equity argument for his second term.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and former Senate President Ken Nnamani backed the endorsement, with Abiodun asserting Tinubu “deserves another term” and Nnamani urging mobilization for national unity.

Attendees included former House Speaker Patricia Etteh, former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, Northern Forum coordinator Rufai Chachangi, and former Speaker Yakubu Dogara, alongside other lawmakers.