Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Yekini Nabena, has dismissed the recent comments by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on alleged northern marginalization under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing them as mere sentiments targeted against a Southern President.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Nabena said such sentiments would not succeed, insisting that presidential power would remain in the South for the next six years.

Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), had accused the federal government of favoring the South in infrastructural development, claiming that road networks in the North remain in poor condition while more investment is concentrated in the South.

Reacting, Nabena said the former governor’s intention was to incite northerners against the Tinubu administration and undermine the chances of a Southern candidate winning re-election in 2027, thereby completing the South’s constitutionally-backed eight years in power.

“The incitement is clearly for political business or negotiation, just like some politicians did in 2019 and 2023. But that tactic has expired. The people, especially voters in Kano, now understand who is using them for political gains, and even the political gladiators know the game of these political merchants,” Nabena stated.

The Bayelsa-born APC chieftain challenged Kwankwaso to travel across the South-South region by road and compare its infrastructure to that of the North.

“Is the North inferior or superior to the South after eight years of northern leadership? Why is Senator Kwankwaso still complaining about underdevelopment in the North when the region just completed its eight years in power? One would wonder which northern resources were used to develop the South—is it the gold, rice, or groundnut pyramids?” he asked.

Nabena insisted that Kwankwaso’s efforts to stir ethnic or regional resentment would not succeed, declaring that the South must complete its tenure in the presidency for the sake of equity and fairness.

“As politicians, we know what the former governor is up to. He is trying to pit the North against the Southern presidency, but that plot has already failed. The time for playing religious or ethnic cards is long gone,” Nabena added.

He concluded by declaring that Kwankwaso neither possesses the influence nor the capacity to intimidate the South ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“You can no longer intimidate the South or anyone with Kano votes. We all know the game. The era of using religion or ethnicity as a political weapon is becoming obsolete,” he warned