ABUJA, NIGERIA — The political calculus ahead of the 2027 presidential race has shifted dramatically after former Governor of Borno State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, completely foreclosed the regional viability of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In a decisive political brief, Sheriff declared that Atiku is completely “on his own” regarding his continued quest for the presidency, asserting that the northern region will not back any northern candidate to truncate the current rotational power arrangement between the North and South.
Sheriff’s blunt rejection strikes a massive blow to the alternative opposition alliance structures currently being built around Atiku, further solidifying a growing northern consensus to honor the traditional power-sharing agreement by backing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term bid.
“It Is Not The North’s Time Now”
Sheriff, a highly influential political strategist who previously served as National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the APC, made it clear that regional stability relies entirely on mutual political trust. He noted that after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, equity demands that the South retains the executive seat for a full two-term cycle.
According to Sheriff, any northern politician attempting to muscle their way onto a major presidential ticket in 2027 is acting on isolated, selfish ambitions rather than a collective regional agenda.
“Atiku is entirely on his own; his ambition does not reflect the collective yearning of our region,” Sheriff declared during the strategic media interaction. “It is simply not the North’s time now. We are a people of honor and equity. The North believes in fairness, and we gave our word to support a southern presidency. That agreement must be respected until 2031.”
Fragmenting the Northern Opposition Base
Sheriff’s public statement highlights a massive vulnerability for Atiku, who has spent decades leveraging a powerful grassroots network across the core northern states. By explicitly stating that the region’s political heavyweights are not interested in a northern candidacy, Sheriff is effectively cutting off the oxygen needed to fuel Atiku’s next national campaign.
Political analysts note that this development plays right into the hands of incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has spent the last few months actively maintaining close ties with northern governors, traditional rulers, and key consensus builders to fortify his re-election base.
Sheriff pointed out that despite the heavy economic adjustments and structural reforms currently facing the federation, the solution is to collaborate with the sitting administration to drive regional development rather than plunging the country into an unstable ethnic and regional political war.
2027 Realignment Intensifies
The open rejection by the former Borno Governor has triggered immediate reactions within the opposition fold, where figures like Kenneth Okonkwo and other alliance builders are trying to consolidate a unified multi-candidate front against the APC.
With Sheriff leading the charge to keep the North aligned with the South, insiders within the APC say the ruling party is successfully executing a strategy to keep the opposition isolated, fragmented, and region-locked.
As the major political blocks map out their operational trajectories for 2027, Sheriff’s clear warning serves as a firm reminder that any northern candidate hoping for a spontaneous regional wave will find themselves facing a heavily fortified wall of establishment resistance right from their home turf.
