The secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar yesterday differed over whether northern politicians should contest the 2027 presidential election, a move that has given the latter’s presidential ambition a boost.
Akume had told northern political bigwigs to put off contesting the presidential election until 2031, when President Bola Tinubu would have completed his second term.
In what could pass for a bait, the SGF specifically asked Atiku to forget about taking over the presidential villa in 2027, saying if God wants him to be president, he can win an election at the age of 90.
But Atiku, through his media aide, Paul Ibe, countered the SGF’s position, saying that Nigerians will decide who presides over them from 2027.
He added that the disparity of six years in power between the North and South casts a shadow over the balance of power.
He said by 2027, the South would have enjoyed 17 years of leadership, while the North would have experienced 11 years.
Atiku’s response further fuels speculation about his ambition to contest the 2027 election for a record seventh time.
The Adamawa-born politician has been the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the last two election cycles (2019 and 2023). Before then, Atiku, since 1994, has contested presidential primaries of other parties and emerged as a candidate in one party.
Although Atiku has yet to comment on his future political ambitions, a PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) member, Chief Bode George, has repeatedly called on him not to contest the 2027 election.
However, Akume, who spoke on Sunday while appearing on a TVC politics programme, said the South is still poised to produce a president in 2027.
The SGF, a former governor of Benue State, said President Tinubu had not lost goodwill among Nigerians because of tax reform bills and other strategic economic decisions taken within the last 17 months of his administration and expressed optimism that the president would run Nigeria for eight years.
He defended the tax reform bills as a well-envisioned proposed legislation that would help the country when passed by the National Assembly.
He said, “President Tinubu, as a southerner, should be allowed to have a second term, meaning that those eyeing the Presidency from the North in 2027 should look beyond that year by waiting till 2031.
“If it is the will of God for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to be President of Nigeria, even at the age of 90, he can get it. But he and other northerners eyeing the office now should look beyond 2027.”
Akume appealed to Nigerians to allow the bills to scale through the required legislative processes, saying, “They are well-envisioned for Nigeria and Nigerians.”
However, Atiku said Nigerians should decide who emerges as president in 2027, adding that the Tinubu government still needs to demonstrate that it deserves to be re-elected.
In a tweet responding to Akume’s suggestion, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, wrote, “Where, then, does accurate equity and fairness reside? By the year 2027, the South will have enjoyed 17 years of leadership — eight years under Obasanjo, five years under Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu — while the North will have experienced only 11 years, with Yar’Adua serving three and Buhari eight. This resulted in a disparity of six years between the North and South, casting a shadow over the balance of power.
“In any case, the power to elect and vote out their government lies firmly with the Nigerian people, entrusted to them upon the government’s ability to prove itself worthy of the people’s ballot.
“But has the Tinubu government demonstrated that it deserves to be re-elected? The answer, alas, is as clear as the heavens themselves — God forbid,” he wrote.
