2027: Why Opposition Parties Should Rethink Zoning Presidency to the South — Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on opposition parties to reconsider moves to zone their 2027 presidential ticket to the South, warning that such a decision could weaken their chances against the ruling party in the next general election.

In a statement issued through his spokesperson, Olusola Sanni, Atiku argued that the growing push for southern zoning reflects what he described as a “self-defeating and intellectually dishonest narrative” that does not align with Nigeria’s current political realities.

He maintained that while zoning within the All Progressives Congress (APC) may be aimed at preserving the presidency for incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the opposition cannot afford to adopt the same strategy without carefully evaluating electoral dynamics.

According to him, political decisions should be guided by strategy, coalition-building, and electoral mathematics rather than emotional sentiment or moral arguments.

“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,” the statement read.

Atiku’s camp further argued that no incumbent president in Nigeria has ever been defeated by an opposition candidate from the same geopolitical zone, insisting that ignoring this pattern would amount to entering the race at a disadvantage.

The statement also questioned the moral justification for zoning, noting that the South has already enjoyed a longer share of presidential power in the Fourth Republic compared to the North.

“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,” it said.

It added that another four-year southern presidency would further widen the imbalance, making it difficult to justify calls for exclusive zoning on the basis of fairness or equity.

Atiku also accused some political actors of inconsistency, pointing to what he described as selective support for zoning principles over the years. He referenced the 2011 political transition following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, when the South retained the presidency under Goodluck Jonathan, despite northern expectations under the informal zoning arrangement.

“It is intellectually dishonest for those who supported a Southern presidency in 2011 to now suddenly posture as custodians of rotational justice. Principles do not become sacred only when they align with personal ambition,” the statement added.

While acknowledging the Southeast’s aspiration to produce Nigeria’s president as legitimate, the former vice president warned against reducing such ambition to what he called symbolic or transactional political arrangements.

“The Southeast deserves a sustainable and credible pathway to national leadership—not symbolic tokenism or bespoke arrangements tailored to satisfy one individual’s ambition,” he stated.

The statement concluded by urging opposition parties to prioritise building a strong national coalition capable of challenging the incumbent rather than adopting strategies that may inadvertently strengthen President Tinubu’s re-election prospects.

“Defeating an incumbent president requires realism, not romanticism; strategy, not sentiment; honesty, not selective memory,” it said, adding that the opposition must choose between making political statements or focusing on winning power.

NIGERIA NEWS 247 also reports that the Nigeria Democratic Congress and several other opposition groups recently endorsed zoning their presidential ticket to the Southern region ahead of the 2027 elections.