The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged opposition parties to adopt a realistic and strategic approach ahead of the 2027 presidential election, warning against emotional arguments over zoning.
In a statement issued by Atiku's media aide, Olusola Sanni, the camp cautioned opposition figures against insisting that the presidential ticket must be exclusively zoned to the South. The statement argued that while the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a southern candidate, the opposition must carefully evaluate political realities.
Opposition Told to Focus on Strategy
According to the statement, electoral success cannot be built on emotions or selective political arguments, but on broad coalitions and practical calculations. "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," the statement said.
The Atiku camp maintained that the opposition must prioritize strategies capable of producing victory rather than narratives that could weaken its chances in 2027.
Atiku's Camp Questions Fairness Argument
The statement also challenged the moral justification for continued southern leadership, noting that 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 becomes difficult to understand the justice in an argument that seeks to deepen an already existing imbalance under the guise of equity," the statement added.
Statement Accuses Politicians of Selective Memory
The Atiku camp criticized some political actors for abandoning zoning principles in 2011 after the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, but now presenting the same principle as non-negotiable. "It is intellectually dishonest for those who enthusiastically supported a Southern presidency under Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 to now suddenly posture as custodians of rotational justice," the statement read.
Southeast Presidency Aspiration Described as Legitimate
While recognizing the aspiration of the South-East region to produce Nigeria's president, the statement said such ambition should not be reduced to political bargaining. "The Southeast deserves a sustainable and credible pathway to national leadership—not symbolic tokenism or bespoke arrangements tailored to satisfy one individual's ambition," it stated.
Opposition Urged to Build Credible Coalition
The statement concluded by calling on opposition parties to concentrate on building a formidable national alliance capable of challenging President Tinubu in the next general election. "Defeating an incumbent president requires realism, not romanticism; strategy, not sentiment; honesty, not selective memory. The opposition must decide whether its goal is to make an emotional statement or to actually win power," the statement said.
Previously, a fresh legal setback hit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after a Federal High Court in Abuja indefinitely adjourned a suit challenging the party's leadership structure. This development is expected to deepen uncertainty within the opposition coalition, reportedly involving key political figures such as Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
