Amid early moves and coalition talks by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election, elder statesman Alhaji Tanko Yakassai has said the North alone cannot determine who emerges as president in 2027.
2027 presidency: Stakeholderss will decide – Yakassai
This came as the League of Northern Democrats, on Monday, May 5, insisted that the mission of the group is not to seize power but to fix the country.
Recall that former presidential aide, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, recently declared that no politician can win the Nigerian presidency without support from the Northern region, ahead of the 2027 election.
However, Yakassai, a former Liaison Officer to late President Shehu Shagari and founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), who spoke with Vanguard, noted that neither the North nor the South could determine who emerges Nigeria’s president.
Speaking against the backdrop of growing coalition against the Tinubu presidency, Yakassai said:
“The presidential election is a national affair. Any presidential election is a national issue, the North alone cannot determine who becomes President; the South alone cannot make it. The South and North must come together with a formidable candidate to get it done.”
Emphasising his earlier position, Yakasai declared that though the North plays a critical role in the emergence of a president, it cannot make the decision alone.
The elder statesman said:
“Like I said, the North alone cannot decide who becomes President in 2027 but it will play a very important role because of its numbers. Of course, other factors will make it possible for a presidential candidate to emerge and win elections in this country. Those factors include acceptability and support by the stakeholders.”
Speaking on the issue in an interview with Vanguard on Monday, the national publicity secretary of the ACF, Prof. Tukur Mohammed Baba, said the forum had no control over who would win the presidential election noting that no one could be president on the basis of regional voting alone.
“ACF as an organisation has no control over that. But we do know that no one can be president on the basis solely of regional voting alone, as the constitutional requirements require what is essentially a pan-regional spread of support at some minimum level.”
Atiku or Tinubu: “Who will north or Buhari support in 2027?”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Atiku Abubakar, El-Rufai and other opposition figures’ recent visit to Muhammadu Buhari has stirred fresh speculation about northern leaders’ early moves against the ruling APC.
Ahead of the 2027 election, analysts have shared their opinions about Buhari’s influence,, even as the APC chairman Abdullahi Ganduje affirmed that Atiku’s moves would fail.
Speaking exclusively with Legit.ng, Dare Glintstone Akinniyi, PDP National Youth Group spokesperson, disclosed the factor that will determine Buhari’s endorsement of Atiku or Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidency.