2027: Northerners can’t vote for Peter Obi – Sheriff

Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, has said Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would not secure the support of Northern voters in the 2027 presidential election. Sheriff stated this on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television, where he also defended President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the […]

Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, has said Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would not secure the support of Northern voters in the 2027 presidential election.

Sheriff stated this on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television, where he also defended President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the country’s security challenges.

Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election after polling over six million votes, is widely expected to contest again in 2027.

Speaking on Obi’s chances, Sheriff said, “I am not worried about Peter Obi because I know Northerners will never vote for him.”

When reminded that Obi won substantial votes in states such as Plateau and Nasarawa during the 2023 election, Sheriff maintained that the circumstances had changed.
“The situation is different now. When Peter Obi was governor, he chased Northerners out of Anambra State,” he alleged.

Sheriff also claimed that supporters of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso were opposed to any political alliance involving Obi.

“This is what people in Kano are telling Kwankwaso now. They say they have always supported him and will continue to do so if he contests for president, but they will not support him if he aligns with Peter Obi,” he said.

The former governor also responded to Obi’s criticisms of President Bola Tinubu over the country’s security situation.

Obi has on several occasions accused the Tinubu administration of failing to effectively tackle insecurity and suggested that the President should step aside if he could not guarantee the safety of Nigerians.

Reacting, Sheriff said the country’s security challenges predated the current administration and argued that Tinubu should be assessed based on the steps his government had taken to address them.

“We should not simply condemn the President because there is insecurity in Nigeria,” he said.

He pointed to the administration’s efforts to introduce state policing as one of the measures aimed at improving security across the country.

On the 2027 presidential race, Sheriff also dismissed the chances of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is expected to contest on the platform of the African Democratic Congress.
According to him, the presidency should remain in the South until 2031 in line with the country’s informal power-sharing arrangement.

“After the civil war, our leaders agreed that Nigeria should not continue on the old path. There is an understanding about regional balance.

“For Atiku, this is not the North’s turn. He is a respected leader and eminently qualified, but he has to wait until 2031. President Buhari completed eight years in office, so it is now the South’s turn,” Sheriff said.

He expressed confidence that President Tinubu would be re-elected in 2027 but added that the APC would continue to campaign actively rather than assume victory was guaranteed.