Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Director-General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, argues that the South, rather than the North, should be allowed to select the President in 2027. In a Thursday interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, Okupe stated that it is only fair for the South to have the opportunity to produce the next President. While acknowledging that Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate in 2023, is qualified to run in 2027, he believes it wouldn’t be appropriate for Abubakar to be president. Okupe pointed out that the issue concerning Atiku’s potential presidency in 2027 is more about geopolitics than age, emphasizing that the South should be allowed to complete its eight-year term as the North did prior to President Bola Tinubu’s tenure. He noted that Atiku’s failure in 2023 was not due to his character, but because voters felt a northern Muslim should not follow another northern Muslim after eight years. He also mentioned that if Atiku decides to run again in 2027, he has the right to do so. He is highly qualified and one of our top people, but geopolitics is a concern. “The requirement still remains; a southerner would have just finished four years and is expected to serve another four-year term. “It’s not stated in the constitution, but there is a consensus that after a northerner completes eight years, a southerner should take over. “Therefore, the North cannot end the South’s term in 2027. “It won’t succeed,” Okupe stated. The former leader of the Labour Party mentioned that Peter Obi, who was the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, could potentially run for president again in 2027 as a southerner. However, he noted that it would be very challenging for Obi to unseat Tinubu from the presidency. When asked if political alliances could remove Tinubu in 2027, Okupe expressed skepticism, saying he did not believe any coalition would effectively oppose the President. He reasoned that alliances against Tinubu would fail because the members would be unwilling to make compromises. Regarding the coalition that supported ex-President Buhari in 2015, Okupe acknowledged he had criticized it, but recognized that its leader, Tinubu, made significant concessions to ensure its success. He expressed doubts about the readiness and willingness of opposition leaders like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso to make concessions for one another in a potential alliance against Tinubu in 2027.
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