Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ali Modu Sheriff has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to suspend his 2027 presidential ambition, arguing that Nigeria’s informal power-sharing arrangement still favours the South. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sheriff said Ali Modu Sheriff Atiku 2027 should not become a Northern project because the region had recently completed eight years in power under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sheriff explained that political leaders adopted an unwritten regional arrangement after the Nigerian Civil War to promote national balance and stability in leadership. According to him, the understanding requires the presidency to remain in the South after Buhari’s tenure.
“After the civil war our leaders have said that there will no longer be this situation in Nigeria, there is a regional agreement. For Atiku, it’s not our time now. He is on his own because it is the turn for the South. Buhari just finished 8 years.”
He added: “If Atiku wants to be president he can wait, he is a leader in Northern Nigeria, he is eminently qualified but it is not our time now, he has to wait till 2031. That is the time for the North, for now, it is time for the South.”
The remarks add a fresh dimension to conversations surrounding Ali Modu Sheriff Atiku 2027 as political consultations intensify ahead of the next general election.
Sheriff also expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would secure re-election in 2027, although he maintained that the APC would continue working to strengthen its electoral prospects. He dismissed the presidential prospects of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Peter Obi, claiming the former Anambra State governor would struggle to attract support from Northern voters.
“I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi.”
When reminded that Obi secured significant votes in states including Nasarawa and Plateau during the 2023 presidential election, Sheriff argued that current political realities were different. He alleged that Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State affected his relationship with Northern residents.
“The situation is different now, you know why? Peter Obi when he was a governor chased all the Northerners out of Anambra State.”
Sheriff further claimed that some Northern political stakeholders, including supporters of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, were reluctant to support any political alliance involving Obi. According to him: “this is what Kano people are telling Kwankwaso now, that we always supported you and we will support you if you run for president but we will not support you to go with Peter Obi.”
The comments come as opposition parties and leading political figures continue consultations and alliance discussions ahead of the 2027 general election, with Ali Modu Sheriff Atiku 2027 becoming one of the latest issues shaping the national political conversation.
