Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should wait until 2031 if he intends to contest for Nigeria’s presidency, insisting that it is currently the South’s turn to produce the next president of Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Sheriff said the North would not support Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambition because President Bola Tinubu should complete his second term.
He said Nigeria’s political leaders reached an understanding on rotational leadership after the civil war to ensure regional balance in the country’s leadership.
“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.
“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,” he said.
Sheriff expressed confidence that President Tinubu would win re-election in 2027 but said the APC would have to work hard ahead of the polls in order to ensure victory.
Sheriff Dismisses Peter Obi’s Chances
The former Borno governor also dismissed the presidential ambition of former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, who he said is seeking the presidency in 2027 as the candidate of the newly registered Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
CityNews recalls that Obi finished third in the 2023 presidential election with more than six million votes.
Sheriff, however, claimed that Northern voters would not support Obi in the next election.
“I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi,” he said.
When reminded that Obi won significant votes in states such as Nasarawa and Plateau in the 2023 election, Sheriff said the situation had changed.
He added that the people of Kano will also not support Rabiu Kwankwaso as Obi’s running mate.
“The situation is different now, you know why? Peter Obi when he was a governor chased all the Northerners out of Anambra State.
“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,” Sheriff alleged.
