North Won’t Vote For Obi, Atiku Is On His Own – Sheriff

Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, has dismissed Peter Obi’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the former Anambra State governor will not secure the support of Northern voters.

The Sheriff has also dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, insisting that it is not the North’s turn to produce Nigeria’s next president.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Sheriff said he was not concerned about Obi’s presidential ambition, despite the former Labour Party candidate’s strong performance in the 2023 election.

Obi, who polled more than six million votes to finish third in the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, is seeking the presidency again in 2027 under the newly registered Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

However, Sheriff maintained that Obi would not succeed because, in his view, the North would not vote for him.

“I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi,” Sheriff said.

The Sheriff, who said the North would not support Atiku’s presidential bid because it is the turn of a Southerner, disclosed that Nigeria’s political leaders reached an understanding 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 South’s turn. 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,” the Sheriff added.