A National Summit on the Future of Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy, will hold on May, 28, and 29.

The proposed national summit, initiated by The Patriots in collaboration with the Nigerian Political Summit Group (NPSG), is aimed at facilitating broad national consensus on the most suitable and inclusive governance system for Nigeria.

The members of the Convening/Coordinating Committee, Inaugurated yesterday, includes former governors, Chief Gbenga Daniel (Ogun State), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto State), former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; publisher, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, Ambassador (Dr) Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, and other eminent Nigerians.

The event, chaired by a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, marked the formal commencement of preparations for the National Summit on the Future of Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Chief Anyaoku, who remains a towering figure in national and global diplomacy at the age of 92, set the tone for what many see as a crucial national dialogue.

He declared that Nigeria’s current constitutional arrangement, anchored on the 1999 Constitution (as amended), remains fundamentally flawed and ill-suited for a pluralistic society like Nigeria.

“We believe we can use this summit to achieve the making of a constitution that will serve this pluralistic country better.

The 1999 Constitution, however amended, cannot serve Nigeria well,” Anyaoku said.He argued passionately for the return to a truly federal constitution reminiscent of Nigeria’s early independence years (1960–1966), a period he recalled as one of more effective governance, regional progress, and national cohesion.

That federal system, he noted, allowed Nigeria to flourish before the advent of military rule.”

Tensions are reportedly growing within the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its influential Governance Advisory Council, GAC, over the rumoured governorship ambition of Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

At just 39 years old, Seyi Tinubu is being tipped by several youths and diaspora groups as the next ideal candidate to lead Lagos State.

His endorsements from the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, The Future Platform, and some Nigerian communities abroad have given wind to speculation that he may soon throw his hat into the governorship race.

Although he has yet to make a formal declaration, insiders say underground efforts to lobby for his candidacy are already in full gear.

If Seyi Tinubu, 39, emerges as governor in 2027, he would set a new record as the youngest person to lead Lagos State since its creation in 1967.

Currently, that record is held by Babatunde Fashola, who became governor at age 43 in 2007.

But far from being met with a resounding welcome, the development has placed the party and its leadership in a difficult position.

The GAC, a 30-man powerful and highly influential political organ founded by President Tinubu himself when he was governor in 1999, is reportedly divided over the prospect of Seyi emerging as the APC’s governorship flag bearer.

The group, headed by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, has 30 members, including ex-governors, ex-deputy governors, ex-speakers, former and incumbent senators as well as elder statesmen and women.

Since Tinubu’s exit as governor in 2007, the GAC has operated as the unseen hand behind Lagos’ political machinery, often deciding who gets what within the state’s structure.

It was instrumental in the emergence of former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode and later Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

However, the possibility of Seyi Tinubu stepping into the frame has raised questions about political dynasty, merit and the direction of the party in the country’s most strategic state.

It was observed that some stakeholders are worried that fielding Seyi, who lacks any track record of political office, could backfire, especially with Lagos being a politically sophisticated and economically complex state.

Critics argue that his only known role so far is as CEO of Loatsad Promomedia Ltd, an outdoor advertising firm.

For a state of over 20 million people and massive infrastructural needs, many within the APC question whether youthful energy alone is enough to handle such a task.

One senior party member from Oshodi-Isolo, described the move as “political arrogance.”

He suggested that it would send the wrong message for the president’s son to govern Lagos while his father seeks re-election in 2027.

“It would feel like dictatorship, not democracy. We risk alienating the electorate,” the source said.Others, however, strongly disagree.

They pointed to global and local political dynasties to support their argument.

A pro-Seyi supporter, Laken Agbaje, from Alimosho, cited examples like the Philippines, where Ferdinand Marcos Sr was president while his son served as governor and the United States, where George W. Bush governed Texas after his father, George H. W. Bush, served as president.

They also referenced the Saraki family of Kwara State, where both father and son held the governor’s seat at different times.

“Seyi is a constitutional Nigerian with political rights. If the people want him and the party clears him, why not?” the APC chieftain said, while noting that Seyi enjoys significant goodwill among Lagos youth and digital-savvy voters.

Following the growing push for Seyi Tinubu’s governorship candidacy, sources indicate that he is strategically positioning some of his loyalists to contest for key positions, including chairman roles, in the upcoming local government elections in Lagos State.

This move has sparked concern among residents, who have raised alarms over what they described as “undue interference” in the electoral process.

In the 2023 presidential election, President Bola Tinubu lost Lagos State to Peter Obi of the Labour Party, a development many interpreted as a warning sign of waning political dominance in his traditional stronghold.

This, observers believe, could be further compounded if Seyi Tinubu emerges as the APC governorship candidate, as such a move may deepen voter resentment and hinder the party’s chances of reclaiming broad support across the state.

Still, for many party loyalists, the issue is not only about political dynasty or competence, but fairness and equity.

Lagos State is divided into five administrative districts known as IBILE: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe.

The last four governors of the state, including Tinubu, Fashola, Ambode and Sanwo-Olu, have hailed from Lagos Island and Epe.

In fact, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the first civil governor of the state also claimed to be a native of Lagos Island.

This leaves Ikorodu, Badagry and Ikeja without representation at the top.

The clamour for zoning has gained traction, with many party members arguing that it is high time the governorship seat rotated to other underrepresented districts, particularly Ikorodu or Badagry.

It was gathered that during a recent meeting in Epe, the issue of Seyi Tinubu’s potential governorship ambition came up among Lagos APC stakeholders.

However, the matter was quickly flagged and set aside, as Seyi has yet to officially declare his intentions to the party or its key stakeholders.

This has left many in the party uncertain about how to proceed, with some urging caution until Seyi formally makes his move.

However, it was learnt that a faction within the party is silently backing Babajimi Benson, a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Ikorodu Federal Constituency as the next governor of the state.Another top APC source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The GAC and APC stakeholders are increasingly worried over Tinubu’s silence on the growing calls for his son’s governorship bid.“The lack of clarity is creating a sense of uncertainty within the party and many of us are unsure how to proceed without guidance from the president himself.”

With two years to the next presidential election, mixed reactions have trailed the gale of defections by high-profile politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into the All Progressives Congress, APC.

This comes as it was hinted that the coalition spearheaded by former PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar may not succeed against the President Bola Tinubu-led APC due to moves by some Fulani interests to escalate the Fulani war that has birthed itself in Nigeria.

Recently, Atiku, his counterpart from the Labour Party Peter Obi, Babachir Lawal, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, announced the formation of the coalition under the Social Democratic Party.

Since the announcement, no political bigwig has joined the party in their push to wrest power from Tinubu in 2027.

This is as the PDP and Atiku’s camp lost two major stakeholders from the South-South, Ifeanyi Okowa and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.

Okowa, who was Atiku’s presidential running mate in the 2023 election, had dumped the PDP for the APC alongside Oborevwori at a stakeholders’ meeting in Asaba, Delta State.

It was observed that Oborevwori’s defection now puts the APC in the lead in the Nigerian Delta region, Delta, Edo, and Cross River states are APC, while the governors of Akwa Ibom and Rivers states have backed President Tinubu, leaving only Bayelsa State with the PDP.

In the Southwest, the APC may likely retain votes from the region because Tinubu hails from the area.

For the North, there have been agitations over the region’s political leaning ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with former presidential aide Hakeem Baba-Ahmed saying the North will decide its political direction in the next six months because the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari made the region wiser.

Baba-Ahmed said, “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way.”

While Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), El-Rufai has been trying to galvanize the North to tilt their votes towards the opposition coalition with his visit to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, and former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso amid talks with other prominent politicians from the rregion.