Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned opposition parties against zoning their 2027 presidential ticket to the Southern region, warning that such a move could weaken efforts to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the next general election.
In a statement released through his spokesperson, Olusola Sanni, Atiku described the growing agitation for a Southern presidential candidate as “counterproductive and politically misleading,” insisting that opposition parties must focus on political strategy and electoral realities rather than emotions or regional sentiments.
According to the statement, the major concern should be the ability of any opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent president from the same region.
“The critical question remains: how can an opposition candidate from the South successfully defeat a sitting Southern president?” the statement queried.
Atiku’s camp further argued that Nigeria’s political history does not support the possibility of a Southern opposition candidate removing a sitting Southern president from office. The statement maintained that no incumbent president in Nigeria has ever been defeated by an opposition challenger from the same region.
The former Vice President also raised concerns about fairness and equity in the nation’s power-sharing arrangement. According to him, by 2027, the Southern region would have occupied the presidency for about 18 years in the Fourth Republic, while the North would have spent roughly 10 years in power.
Based on this calculation, Atiku argued that calls for the presidency to remain in the South may become increasingly difficult to justify under the principles of balance and national inclusion.
The statement additionally accused some political actors of inconsistency, recalling how many individuals who now strongly advocate zoning had supported the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 after the death of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
According to Atiku’s camp, those same actors are now presenting zoning as an untouchable political doctrine, despite previously supporting political circumstances that altered the North-South power rotation arrangement.
On the issue of the Southeast, Atiku stated that the region deserves a genuine and sustainable pathway to producing Nigeria’s president, rather than what he described as symbolic gestures or political tokenism.
The remarks are expected to further intensify political debates ahead of the 2027 general elections, as opposition parties continue consultations and alliance talks aimed at challenging the ruling administration.
