Former Borno State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, has dismissed the chances of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi winning the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate would struggle to secure the support of Northern voters.
Speaking on Monday during Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sheriff also defended President Bola Tinubu’s handling of security, expressed confidence that the APC would retain power after the 2027 general election, and maintained that the presidency should remain in the South until 2031.
Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election after polling more than six million votes on the platform of the Labour Party, is expected to contest the 2027 election under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Sheriff said the former Anambra governor stood little chance of attracting widespread support across Northern Nigeria.
“I am not worried about Peter Obi because I know Northerners will never vote for him,” he said.
When reminded that Obi secured significant votes in states such as Plateau and Nasarawa during the 2023 election, Sheriff argued that the political landscape had since changed.
He alleged that Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State had left many Northerners dissatisfied.
“The situation is different now. When Peter Obi was governor, he chased Northerners out of Anambra State,” Sheriff alleged.
The former Borno governor further claimed that supporters of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had expressed opposition to any political alliance between their leader and 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.
Sheriff also rejected Obi’s recent criticism of President Tinubu’s handling of the country’s security challenges.
Obi has repeatedly accused the administration of failing to tackle worsening insecurity, arguing that the President should resign if he cannot guarantee the safety of Nigerians.
Responding to the criticism, Sheriff said Nigeria’s security challenges predated the Tinubu administration and urged Nigerians to assess the government based on the reforms it has introduced.
“We should not simply condemn the President because there is insecurity in Nigeria,” he said.
He cited the administration’s support for the establishment of state police as one of the measures aimed at strengthening internal security and improving policing across the country.
Sheriff also dismissed the prospects of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arguing that the presidency should remain in the South for another four years in the interest of equity and national cohesion.
According to him, Nigeria’s political leadership reached an unwritten understanding after the civil war to rotate the presidency between the North and the South as a means of promoting national unity.
“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,” he said.
Sheriff expressed confidence that President Tinubu would secure a second term in 2027, while stressing that the APC would not take victory for granted but would continue to engage Nigerians and campaign vigorously ahead of the election.