Ali Modu Sheriff, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Borno State, has dismissed prospects of Peter Obi for the 2027 presidential election, asserting that Northern voters will not back the former Anambra State governor.
Despite the former Labour Party candidate’s strong performance in the 2023 polls, Sheriff stated during an interview on Channels TV on Monday, July 6, that he remains unconcerned about Obi’s presidential ambitions.
Peter Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform with more than six million votes, is seeking the presidency again in 2027 under the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress.
Sheriff however maintains that Obi would not succeed because, according to him, the North would not vote for him.
He said, “I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi”
When reminded that Peter Obi secured significant votes in states like Nasarawa and Plateau during the 2023 election, Sheriff rejected the comparison, arguing that political conditions have since changed.
“The situation is different now, you know why? Peter Obi when he was a governor chased all the Northerners out of Anambra State. This is what Kano people are telling Kwankwaso now, that we always supported you and we will support you if you run for president but we will not support you to go with Peter Obi.”
Atiku is On His Own, Should Wait Till 2031 Elections
Speaking further, Sheriff claimed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will also not get Northern support for the 2027 presidential election, insisting that power must remain in the South until 2031 in line with Nigeria’s unwritten rotational arrangement.
The APC chieftain maintained that no politician from the North should contest the 2027 presidency, arguing that Nigeria’s political leaders established an informal agreement to maintain regional balance in the nation’s leadership after the civil war.
He said, “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 turn for the South. 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”.
Backstory…
Sheriff’s claims comes amid his allegation that Peter Obi is attempting to divide Nigeria. The ex Borno governor made this claim on Monday during an appearance in an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television.
He made the allegation while responding to the Obi’s recent call on President Bola Tinubu’s resignation over security and economic situations facing the country.
According to him: “Peter Obi, up to this moment, is pursuing the division of Nigeria because he believes in Biafra.
“He never condemns Biafra or IPOB, as he wants to divide Nigeria. He should come out and say if he doesn’t believe in the division of the country.
“Anybody aspiring to lead Nigeria must be someone who stands for Nigeria, not for any section.”
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