By Musa Baba Adamu
A former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, has said northerners would closely examine the tenure of Peter Obi as governor of Anambra State ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Yusuf made the remark during an interview on Trust TV, monitored in Abuja, while reacting to ongoing political alignments involving Obi and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
According to him, Kwankwaso’s influence in the North could play a major role in Obi’s acceptance in the region, but insisted that northerners would revisit policies allegedly implemented by Obi during his time as governor.
“Kwankwaso is the vehicle to sell Peter Obi to the North, but we have the record of what Peter Obi did to northerners,” Yusuf said.
The former NHIS boss alleged that Obi introduced measures requiring northerners residing in Anambra State to obtain identity cards and provide personal details, including their occupations and states of origin.
He further claimed that concerns over the treatment of northerners in the South-East once prompted Kwankwaso to intervene directly during Obi’s administration in Anambra State.
“It is the same Kwankwaso that had to fly to Awka and sit with him and say, be careful. I have more Igbos in Kano living in peace than there are northerners throughout the South-East,” Yusuf stated.
Yusuf maintained that Obi’s past actions while serving as governor would become part of the political conversation as preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum.
