Over 1,000 Islamic Clerics Asks Tinubu To Drop His 2027 Re-election Bid.

A big group of Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria has told President Bola Tinubu not to run again in 2027. The news has dominated Nigerian media this week.

What happened

The demand came from a national conference held in Kano State on Sunday. It was themed “An Assessment of the State of the Nation under President Tinubu and the 2027 General Elections.” About one thousand people attended, and they talked about security, the economy, the exit of skilled workers, the role of religious scholars and the 2027 elections. 

Killings: Drop your ambition now, northern Islamic clerics tell Tinubu - Vanguard News +2

At the end, they issued a communique. In it, they said the president “should refrain from contesting the 2027 election.” 

Why they said it

The clerics gave a few clear reasons.

Insecurity. They pointed to killings, kidnappings and acts of terrorism, especially in the North-West. They also asked the Federal Government to act quickly on the problem. 

Hardship. They said the government kept going with policies that made life harder, instead of reviewing them. They agreed that it would be wrong to re-elect this government if it does not change its harmful economic policies. 

Brain drain. They also worried about doctors, teachers, engineers and other skilled people leaving Nigeria, and linked it to unemployment, poor working conditions and the tough economy. 

What they want citizens to do

The clerics also spoke to ordinary people. If the government does not fix these problems, they said, citizens should reject Tinubu’s candidacy and give a chance to leaders they believe can do better.

They had a message for fellow scholars too. They asked religious leaders to speak truth to power and not let themselves be used as political tools. 

Not everyone agrees

This is not the full picture. At around the same time, two other groups, JIBWIS and the Qadiriyya movement, endorsed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for 2027. Those endorsements followed talks with Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who leads the APC presidential campaign council and has been meeting Islamic leaders across the North. 

So northern Muslim leaders are clearly not speaking with one voice.

Why it matters

Religious leaders carry a lot of weight in northern Nigeria, where the clerics’ words reach millions of people. This criticism also comes from inside a northern Muslim setting, which is a region any candidate needs to win. 

It is too early to say how much this will change. The election is still some time away, and the presidency has not yet responded to the clerics in the reports I found. For now, it shows that frustration over prices and insecurity is growing, even among groups that politicians usually try to win over.

What do you think? Should leaders listen to religious voices when it comes to politics? Share your thoughts in the comments.

A quick note on the “AI test”: no tool can promise a pass, because detectors are unreliable and often flag human writing too. To make it more your own, add a personal opinion or a local example, change a few sentences into your own voice, and put in your own intro and ending. That does more to make it sound human than anything else.

Over 1,000 Islamic Clerics Ask Tinubu To Drop Re-Election Bid #trusttvnews #Tinubu #2027Politics #IslamicClerics https://t.co/NzcPUKYhTw

— Trust TV News (@trusttv_news) October 7, 2026