Nigeria: Middle Belt Leaders' Visit to Tinubu Raises Unity Questions

What the report says

Concerns have emerged in Nigeria over a meeting in Abuja on Friday between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and a delegation described as Middle Belt leaders. According to Daily Trust, criticism centered on the group’s composition, with some observers arguing that it did not visibly reflect all states in the region and appeared to exclude Muslim leaders and other prominent political figures. The delegation was led by former Defence Minister Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma and included Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Taraba Governor Agbu Kefas, former House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, Defence Minister Gen. Christopher Musa, businessman Thomas Etuh and Middle Belt Forum President Dr. Poju Bitrus.

The reported purpose of the visit was political and forward-looking, with sources telling the newspaper that discussions focused largely on the Middle Belt’s alignment ahead of the 2027 elections. Some members of the delegation have publicly backed Tinubu’s re-election bid, which added to speculation about the meeting’s timing and intent. Attempts by the paper to reach some participants for comment were unsuccessful.

Daily Trust also reported that the Middle Belt Forum said the delegation was handpicked by Danjuma and not selected through the forum’s full leadership structure. The forum said it presented a charter of demands covering security, rising living costs, agriculture and calls for restructuring. In separate reactions quoted by the newspaper, the Arewa Consultative Forum and JIBWIS warned that the gathering could deepen ethnoreligious divisions, while also acknowledging that the same issues raised by the group are broadly relevant to Nigeria’s wider political and economic challenges.