PDP chieftain Jaafar Bello has said the North has not spent as many years in political leadership as the South since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.…....
He made this known in an interview with TRUST TV on Saturday, May 23, 2026, where he explained that the South has held the presidency for a longer period, leaving the North slightly behind in the power-sharing arrangement.
Bello listed Tafawa Balewa’s six years in office, Shehu Shagari’s four years, Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s two years, and Goodluck Jonathan’s five years.
According to him, when these tenures are added and compared under Nigeria’s rotational system, the North is still short by about one year.
He said,
“Tafawa Balewa served for 6 years, Shehu Shagari served for 4 years, then we have Chief Olusegun Obasanjo with 8 years. Then we have Umaru Musa Yar’Adua with 2 years, making it 4 again for the North, then we have Chief Goodluck Ebele Jonathan with 5 years. The North is left with a deficit of one year.”
