Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned opposition political actors against zoning the 2027 presidential ticket to the South, warning that such a move could ultimately hand President Bola Tinubu an easy path to re-election.
In a statement issued by his camp, Atiku argued that presenting another southern candidate against a sitting southern president lacks political strategy and has no historical precedent in Nigeria’s democratic experience.
According to the statement, opposition parties must focus on building a formidable coalition capable of defeating the incumbent rather than making what it described as sentimental or symbolic decisions.
Naija News reports that Atiku’s camp questioned the viability of a southern opposition candidate unseating a southern incumbent president.
“At the core of the question is: how does a Southern opposition candidate realistically unseat a sitting Southern president?” the statement read.
“Nigerian political history offers no precedent for such an outcome. To insist otherwise is to enter the contest already defeated.”
The statement suggested that if the opposition insists on zoning the presidency to the South, it may as well allow Tinubu seek another term without fielding a rival candidate from the same region.
