A former governor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has dismissed the assertion that multiplicity of presidential candidates from the South would pave the way for former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from the North to win the 2027 presidential election.
About six southerners, including President Bola Tinubu, have picked the ticket of the various political parties for the January 2027 presidential election.
Apart from Tinubu, other southern presidential candidate are Mr. Peter Obi, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC); Mr. Donald Duke, People’s Redemption Party (PRP); Prince Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party (SDP); Governor Seyi Makinde, Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Goodluck Jonathan, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is the only Northerner in the 2027 presidential race. There are fears that the multiplicity of southern presidential candidates might deplete the votes from the region and hand Atiku, the lone Northern candidate in the race, victory in 2027.
But the former PDP governor, who does not want his name in print, said: “Nigeria’s electoral mechanism affords certain privileges to incumbent governors in many states, and they control the levers of coercion and logistics.”
Although he could not defend why some state governors, including himself, lost their states to the opposition in 2023, he still believed that the outcome of the 2027 presidential election, “may weigh heavily in favour” of President Bola Tinubu, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Despite the power of incumbency, about 20 sitting state governors lost their states to the opposition candidates in 2023. He wondered why the NDC presidential candidate, Obi, thinks he has a chance of winning the 2027 presidential election.
The former governor, who also lost his state to the opposition candidate in 2023, insisted that with the split of the opposition candidates, the odds favour President Tinubu.
“They have not run an election against incumbent Tinubu and they will see the outcome,” he said, adding that if the ratio is split 60:40 in favour of the opposition before, “now they will split 60 among Obi, Atiku, Makinde, Duke.
“None of them will be able to secure 40 per cent.” He is predicting that there would be “technical push back in most jurisdictions,” such as security and logistics.” The former governor is not envisaging a free and fair election in 2027, adding, “If you were Tinubu, what would you do?
“All these politicians preaching piety will do the same thing if they are incumbents?” He blamed the opposition for allowing a three or four horse race, and suggested that Obi would have negotiated with Atiku and secure a slot for the Igbo in 2031, instead of running for the presidency next year.
This, he noted, was what Tinubu did with the late President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that the presidency is a long term project with “second best option.”
The former governor further wondered if Obi’s goodwill and cult followership could fetch Ndigbo “a place on the national table” like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom he added, “could not fetch us a respectable place on the national dining table.” He warned that Obi’s presidential ambition would put the Igbo in the worst political and economic situation.
According to him, the former Labour Party’s presidential candidate, “would have strategically brought Atiku to his knees, donate a vice to him and extract promise of key ministries (such as) interior, transport, Works, Customs, NPA, IGP, etc.
“With these, he will strengthen trade and commerce for our people, consolidate on police by planting surrogates which he lacks today, save up some money for the 2031 push. Win or lose, he would have secured our foot in the door economically and bright chance of possible presidential slot.”
