Farouk Aliyu is a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, he speaks on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) zoning of its presidential ticket to the South and the realignment of political forces across the country ahead the 2027 General Election, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

Is it given that the South-South and South-West in the hands of President Bola Tinubu; North for Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi is in charge of the South-East? How did people arrive at this conclusion?

Well, to us in the APC, honestly, we don’t care. We honestly don’t care whether a northerner stands against President Tinubu or a southerner because we have the people to deliver him.

Each party decides to do whatever it wants to do and the way it wants to do it. We have already chosen Tinubu as the president now, and hopefully the presidential candidate because the second time is just like a done deal. So, we’ll rally around him.

Those of us from the northern part of the country will rally around Tinubu and we will surely deliver him. So, we don’t really care about what other political parties do in terms of how they will win election. While they do theirs, we do ours as well.

If we have PDP zoning its presidential ticket to the South, and Tinubu is from the region, that splits votes. Don’t you think that this will work against the President?

You see, the unfortunate part of this unsigned agreement between the North and South, is that it clearly gives APC an advantage because President Muhammadu Buhari did eight years. So, it’s a kind of gentleman agreement, and certainly, the people of the South will feel deprived if they don’t have their eight years of leadership.

So, we in the APC have a better advantage as far as this arrangement is concerned unless the people of this country decide otherwise, when we get to the polling units on election day to vote us out, But, at least 90 per cent of the southern part of this country will vote for the APC. And, of course, the North also knows that the there is an agreement. Buhari had eight years in office, so Tinubu should also be allowed to do that.

Unfortunately, the people of this country, don’t see themselves as one people until such a time when we probably get a Nigerian president that each and every one of us will believe is the leader of all of us.

Maybe, that the kind of thing we’ll start talking about. But for now, we have a clear advantage with Tinubu as the incumbent president, who is also from the southern part of the country as our candidate.

Are you saying that Nigerians don’t believe in their leaders?

If Nigerians believe in their leaders, how come that up till today, we are still talking about the president is Yoruba, the president is Fulani, or a Christian or a Muslim?

That has to be with all of us but if we decide otherwise, things will change. Unfortunately, it’s not the politicians who will effect this change; the masses too have a role to play.

When President Goodluck Jonathan was in office. will the people of the southern part of the country say they were better off, or were northerners better off, when Buhari was in charge? That means it has nothing to do with where you come from.

We will continue to talk to Nigerians on the need to for us to sustain the rotational presidency between the North and South, and which gives the APC an advantage

So, while the people are the ones to decide who should govern them, from whichever party, from whichever zone, that rotational agreement is there – North and South – and in some instances, Christians and Muslims.

So, as politicians, we will continue to talk to Nigerians on the need to for us to sustain the rotational presidency between the North and South, and which gives the APC an advantage even as the other parties will still come along this way until such a time, when all of us understand that we don’t need an Hausa man or a Fulani man.

When you spoke about Tinubu being Yoruba and Buhar a Fulani man, it is not only Fulanis that are in northern part of the country. Also, Yorubas are not the only ones in the South, but if you look at it very, this is we, the people of the country that have agreed to these things, so no amount of talk shop can stop it.

Some northerners are saying that Tinubu must go, by all means, that they don’t want the APC again and that anybody can come from the South. What do you make of the plot to drag former President Jonathan into the race?

No matter how you look at it, it’s still the people who will decide on becomes president in 2027. On whether the North is angry or saying they will not vote for Tinubu; that is subjective.

There are people in the South, who are also saying that they will not vote for Tinubu. Of course, not everybody in the North is going to vote for Tinubu but a majority northerners will still vote for him and the APC. President Tinubu will be our candidate; whether Jonathan is contesting or not is not going to pose any threat to us.

We respect Jonathan; we respect Atiku Abubakar, we also respect other Nigerian leaders, but I have not seen anyone on the horizon, who can compete with Tinubu. Look at the crisis in the PDP; I mean, where will they start from? Whoever they bring is a problem. Look at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as well. Where will they start from?

The greatest disadvantage Atiku has is being a northerner, contesting against a southerner, when the power sharing agreement says eight years for the North and eight years for the South. It will also interest you to note that the APC some people talk about everyday, still remains the darling of the people of this country. I agree there are challenges now but there were also challenges when PDP was in power.

Now that we are in power, we will continue to try to do our best to bring relive to the Nigerian people. So, I strongly believe that at the end of the day, Nigerians will agree with us. But if in the wisdom of Nigerians, they don’t want us to continue, just like we booted out PDP, it’s okay for them to vote us out.