Olushola Omogbehin
Major political parties and pressure groups have condemned the position of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that no southern candidate can defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 general election.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labour Party, Young Progressives Party, Social Democratic Party, New Nigeria People’s Party, the Nigeria Democratic Congress have disagreed with the former vice president over his stand.
In an intensive interview with the Punch, they maintained that 2027 presidency should remain in the South in the interest of fairness, national cohesion and political stability.
Their joint disagreement followed a statement issued on Sunday by Atiku’s media aide, Olusola Sanni, calling opposition parties to do away with zoning their presidential tickets to the South.
Arguing their position, Atiku’s camp said while the ruling All Progressives Congress may retain its southern presidential configuration around Tinubu, it would be politically unwise for the opposition to adopt the same approach.
“The first and most obvious question is this: how does a Southern opposition candidate realistically unseat a sitting Southern president? Nigerian political history offers no precedent for such an outcome.
“No incumbent president has ever been defeated by an opposition challenger from the same geopolitical bloc. To insist otherwise is to enter the contest already defeated,” the statement had read.
According to Atiku’s camp, by 2027, the South would have spent more years in power than the North since the return of democracy in 1999.
“By 2027, the South would have held presidential power for approximately 18 years in the Fourth Republic, compared to about 10 years for the North. If the South retains power for another four years, that disparity widens even further.
“It therefore becomes difficult to understand the justice in an argument that seeks to deepen an already existing imbalance under the guise of equity,” Sanni stated.
The National Publicity Secretary of APGA, Ejimofor Opara, said the South should be allowed to complete its turn in office, insisting that Tinubu remained defeatable despite Atiku’s calculations.
“It is the turn of the South, and we strongly believe that every right-thinking northerner should support it. We must bear in mind that four years are far better than eight years. Any other southerner promising a four-year single tenure is a fraudster,” he said.
According to Opara, “The so-called coalition has been returned to default mode. What is certain is that Tinubu’s votes would increase significantly, and he will not lose Lagos this time.”
