Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has cautioned former Kano State governor and NNPP leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, against making comments he says are aimed at turning Northern Nigerians against President Bola Tinubu and Southerners as the 2027 elections draw closer.

Speaking in reaction to Kwankwaso’s recent criticism of the federal government’s resource allocation, Nabena accused the 2023 presidential candidate of deliberately playing up ethnic and religious sentiments to serve his own political agenda.

“As a politician, we all understand what the former Governor is up to. He is working hard to incite the North against the Southern presidency, but that has failed woefully because the South must complete the 8 years in the presidency for fairness and equity,” Nabena stated.

Kwankwaso, who ran for president under the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in 2023, recently alleged that the South is receiving disproportionate attention in areas such as road projects and infrastructure development, leaving the North sidelined.

Nabena dismissed those claims, arguing that they were “statements meant to create division” and insisted that Nigerians are increasingly rejecting politicians who rely on tribal or religious rhetoric.

He emphasized that for the sake of fairness and national balance, the South should be allowed to complete its full eight-year turn in the presidency before power shifts again.

The exchange comes as political tensions slowly rise in anticipation of the 2027 general elections, with regional and party alignments already taking shape.