Atiku Abubakar’s camp warns that a southern opposition candidate may struggle to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 election

The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned opposition parties against zoning their 2027 presidential ticket exclusively to the South, arguing that such a move could strengthen President Bola Tinubu’s re-election chances.

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In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, Atiku’s media aide, Olusola Sanni, said the opposition risks repeating a political strategy that may lack electoral effectiveness if it mirrors the ruling party’s southern zoning arrangement.

He cautioned that political strategy should be driven by realistic calculations, coalition-building, and historical voting patterns rather than sentiment or regional balancing arguments.

According to him, fielding a southern presidential candidate against an incumbent southern president would be politically difficult, citing Nigeria’s electoral history as evidence.

Sanni argued that no incumbent president in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has been defeated by a challenger from the same geopolitical region, warning that such an approach may weaken the opposition’s chances in 2027.

He also addressed arguments around zoning equity, stating that by 2027, the South would have held power longer than the North under the current democratic dispensation.

The statement further noted that this imbalance raises questions about fairness in calls for continued southern leadership under a rotational framework.

The Atiku camp also accused some political actors of inconsistency in their stance on zoning, referencing past support for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2011 presidential bid despite prior informal arrangements favouring the North.

Sanni argued that political principles should remain consistent regardless of personal or regional advantage, warning against what he described as selective application of fairness.

While acknowledging the South-East’s ambition to produce a president, the statement stressed the need for a broader and more strategic national coalition capable of winning elections.

It cautioned against reducing political aspirations to symbolic gestures or arrangements designed around individual interests rather than national viability.

The camp urged opposition parties to prioritise strategy over emotion, insisting that defeating an incumbent president requires careful planning and unity across regions.

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The statement has added fresh momentum to ongoing debates around zoning, coalition politics and succession strategies ahead of the 2027 general elections.