2027: Atiku Victory Will End Rotational Presidency – Shehu Sani

Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani said on Friday that an Atiku Abubakar victory in the 2027 presidential election would mark the end of Nigeria’s informal system of rotating presidential power between the North and South.

Sani made the comment during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he argued that the South should be allowed to complete an eight-year presidential tenure before power returns to the North.

The former lawmaker acknowledged that Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, has a constitutional right to contest the 2027 election. However, he said political considerations around fairness, equity and national stability should also be taken into account when parties decide their candidates.

Sani said his position was not aimed at stopping Atiku from contesting. Instead, he argued that political parties should field candidates from the South in 2027 and allow voters to decide who emerges.

He specifically mentioned Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Seyi Makinde of the APM and Rotimi Amaechi of the ADC as examples of southern politicians who could contest the election.

According to Sani, the South should retain the presidency until 2031, after which he believes the North should have another opportunity to produce the president.

He noted that rotational presidency is not provided for in the Nigerian Constitution. However, he said the practice has existed as an informal political arrangement and should be considered by political leaders in the interest of fairness and national unity.

Sani also argued that presidential power should not remain with one part of the country simply because of its population or electoral strength.

He referred to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure between 2015 and 2023, saying the South did not mount a major challenge to his presidency during that period. He therefore maintained that the South should similarly be allowed to complete an eight-year tenure before power moves back to the North.

The former senator further said his position did not amount to a call for Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race, stressing that the Constitution does not prevent him from seeking the presidency.

However, Sani said an Atiku victory in 2027 would effectively bring the informal rotational arrangement to an end. He also argued that a northern candidate succeeding President Bola Tinubu in 2027 could face resistance from parts of the South.

Sani maintained that allowing a southern candidate to complete eight years would, in his view, make a northern return to the presidency in 2031 less contentious.

The debate over zoning and rotational presidency is expected to remain part of the political discussions ahead of the 2027 general elections, as parties and candidates continue to make their cases for the presidency.