As reported by Daily Post on Monday, May 11, 2026, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shared his views on the need for opposition parties in Nigeria to rethink the idea of assigning the 2027 presidential ticket to the South prior to the party primaries.
In a statement released by his spokesperson, Olusola Sanni, Atiku cautioned opposition leaders against embracing what he termed a harmful and false narrative suggesting that the 2027 presidential nomination should be solely allocated to the South.
He indicated that although the ruling All Progressives Congress might choose to maintain power in the South due to the current leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it would be politically unwise for opposition parties to adopt the same strategy without carefully evaluating the electoral landscape of the nation.
The former vice president emphasized that political decisions should rely on strategy, coalition-building, and practical electoral insights rather than emotional responses or what he called selective moral reasoning.
He asserted that for opposition parties to effectively contest the ruling group in the 2027 elections, they need to adopt realistic political thinking.
The statement also raised doubts about the likelihood of a Southern opposition candidate defeating a sitting Southern president, highlighting a gap in Nigeria’s political context.
Atiku’s team pointed out that no past scenario supports such a situation, urging the opposition to concentrate on the most viable route to electoral success instead of depending on narratives that could hinder their opportunities.
The former vice president further criticized certain political leaders for their inconsistency and opportunistic behavior regarding the zoning discussion.
He mentioned that some individuals who disregarded the zoning concept after the passing of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2011 are currently presenting the same idea as an unchangeable political principle.
The statement also noted that while the Southeast’s desire to elect a Nigerian president is legitimate and warrants meaningful national debate, these aspirations should not be simplified to merely transactional political discussions.
He concluded by asking, “How can a Southern opposition candidate realistically dethrone a sitting Southern president? Nigerian political history does not provide a precedent for such an event…See More
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