The Adamawa State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Leader Leneke, has warned President Bola Tinubu against placing absolute trust in Northern elites and elders, urging the President to engage directly with people in the region ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Leneke said political elites who claim to speak for the North may not necessarily represent the interests of ordinary Nigerians in the region, stressing that their political calculations could differ from those of the people they claim to represent.
The commissioner gave the warning on Tuesday while speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu.
“My warning would be, Mr. President, don’t trust these Northern elites and elders. Speak directly to the people. Show the people your scorecard. Show the people in the North what you have done,” he said.
Leneke maintained that the Tinubu administration had recorded achievements in areas such as security and infrastructure, but lamented that sufficient attention had not been given to communicating these achievements to Nigerians, particularly in the North.
“To be very honest with you, I think there is more this administration has done and achieved that has not been said. There is so much that can be sung, the success story of this administration in the last three years, that can be said but has not been said,” he stated.
According to him, the administration needs to institutionalise a process for communicating its achievements directly to Nigerians, especially those in the northern part of the country.
“Mr. President, you have to have an institutionalised process of how Nigerians, especially the North, need to know, need to be informed, need to be made aware of the achievements that have been carried out under your administration going forward. I think this will be your strategy going into 2027,” Leneke said.
The commissioner also questioned the ability of Northern political elites to mobilise support for Tinubu, alleging that many of them had failed to adequately represent the interests of their people and would be reluctant to openly campaign for the President.
“If Mr President depend on the Northern elite, let me tell you the truth, they have not done well for their people and they are very afraid to go out in the open. They will not go out in the open to campaign for President Tinubu,” he said.
Leneke further alleged that entrusting such political actors with substantial resources for mobilisation could undermine the intended objective, claiming that only a fraction of the resources might eventually reach those expected to undertake grassroots mobilisation.
“If you trust them with massive resources, I think they will go out to campaign. They will only sit in the comfort of their mansions and talk to a few people they trust who will be able to go out and campaign for the president. And then they will give them little of what was given to them,” he added.
