As reported by Leadership, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged opposition political parties in Nigeria against assigning their 2027 presidential ticket to the South, cautioning that doing so may complicate their efforts to win against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the next election.………
In a message shared on Monday via his spokesperson, Olusola Sanni, Atiku emphasized that opposition parties need to carefully consider their strategies rather than making choices based on regional feelings or political trends, he mentioned that winning elections relies on thorough planning, forming alliances, and precise calculations.
He noted that the ruling All Progressives Congress could decide to nominate its presidential candidate from the South since the present president is from that region. Still, he advised that opposition parties should not automatically follow this trend without evaluating its implications for their success.
Atiku highlighted that in Nigeria’s political past, it is uncommon for a candidate from the same area as an incumbent president to succeed against that president, he stated that this pattern should inform the opposition’s strategies for 2027.
He expressed worries regarding fairness in the current discussion around zoning, stating that if the South receives another four years of leadership, it would total around 18 years of power in this democratic period, while the North would have about 10 years.
He mentioned that this increasing disparity weakens the argument for more rotation from the South, he stated that political fairness must be weighed alongside other national considerations.
“The primary and most evident question is: how can a Southern opposition candidate realistically replace a sitting Southern president? The history of Nigerian politics shows no example of this happening,” the statement indicated…....…
