RMRDC Director-General, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has urged the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to abandon his 2027 presidential ambition and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that the South should complete its eight-year tenure before power returns to the North.
Ike-Muonso, who made the call at an interactive session in Abuja on Monday, also urged the former Anambra State governor to consider joining the ruling All Progressives Congress to contribute to its policy discussions and development agenda.
His position comes amid political manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the question of presidential power rotation between the North and South remaining a key consideration in debates over political alliances and succession.
Although the Nigerian Constitution does not prescribe zoning or rotation of the presidency between the two regions, the arrangement has remained an informal political understanding among major parties and stakeholders since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
Ike-Muonso argued that Obi should shelve his immediate presidential ambition, support Tinubu’s re-election and use the intervening years to build broader political alliances and contribute to national development.
He said, “Peter Obi has done well by building a political following and brought issues of public expenditure, accountability and economic management into the national conversation. Those issues deserve sustained engagement.
“But political leadership also requires strategic decisions about when to contest, when to collaborate and how best to contribute to national development. Obi needs to step down. Let him shelve his presidential ambition and work with President Bola Tinubu to retain the ticket for the South.”
The RMRDC chief executive urged Obi to consider working with Tinubu in 2027, maintaining that political leadership required balancing personal ambition with national unity, stability and continuity in governance.
He also encouraged Obi to join the APC, arguing that membership of the ruling party would allow him to participate in internal policy debates and engage with the governance approaches of APC-controlled states.
“Presidential ambition must be balanced with the larger interests of national unity, political stability and the need to sustain policies that can transform the economy.
“Nigeria has developed a political tradition of power rotation between the North and South, and respecting that understanding can help strengthen confidence among the country’s diverse political constituencies,” he said.
Ike-Muonso maintained that Tinubu should be allowed to complete a second term to enable the South to finish its eight-year presidential tenure before the North gets another opportunity to produce the President.
He said joining the APC would also enable Obi to observe and contribute to the party’s approaches to infrastructure, education, healthcare, investment and economic development.
While acknowledging that the decision to join a political party rested with Obi, the RMRDC boss said Nigeria needed a political culture in which prominent figures could overcome past differences and work towards shared national objectives.
He added that the debate ahead of the 2027 elections should extend beyond individual presidential ambitions to focus on policies capable of diversifying the economy, creating jobs and strengthening domestic production.
Linking his argument to economic development, Ike-Muonso said the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda provided a policy framework through which institutions such as the RMRDC could advance local raw-material development, industrialisation, import substitution and value addition.
He said the council was pursuing initiatives to move Nigeria away from exporting unprocessed commodities towards a production-based economy capable of generating employment, attracting investment and strengthening domestic manufacturing.
One of its policy proposals is a legislative framework to require at least 30 per cent value addition to raw materials before export. The initiative is intended to encourage local processing and ensure that more of the economic benefits from Nigeria’s natural resources remain within the country.
He said, “The opportunity before Nigeria is to move beyond exporting raw commodities and build an economy in which our natural resources support local factories, generate employment and create wealth within our communities.”
The RMRDC is also promoting the identification and development of raw-material resources across the country’s 774 local government areas to encourage investment in processing facilities and industrial clusters.
Ike-Muonso urged political leaders to sustain development initiatives beyond electoral cycles, stressing that industrialisation required long-term planning, policy consistency and effective collaboration between the Federal Government and state governments.