OPINION:
Potiskum LGA Eyes@muhammadnuraibrahim848393
5 days ago
Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and Jonathan: New Situation and Change in Nigerian Politics Forecast, PDP Seeks to Change the Face of 2027 Politics as the Party Zones it's Presidential Tickets to the South
Will the PDP’s Presidential Ticket to the South bring back the influence of Northern Politics in 2027 or is it a wake-up call to correct the mistakes of the APC from our North to face the 2027 elections with confidence and reality?
Today, there was a move from the main opposition party, the PDP, that could indicate the future of 2027 politics and reveal the potential that the North and the Northern political elites have to lead a fully democratic and professional political system if Northern politicians accept it and face it with unity in 2027.
The oldest and main opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is politically opposed to the ruling party, and the Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC), which is currently being consolidated to contest the 2027 general elections, have officially declared their intention to award a direct presidential ticket to the southern part of Nigeria, giving the southern part the full opportunity to field three experienced and influential candidates from different political parties.
According to the decision made by the PDP, being the party with the most influence in the opposition, it has now directly granted the three political zones in the southern part of Nigeria, namely the South-South, the South-West, and the South-East, the right to field a presidential candidate, confirming the speculation that former Nigerian President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan will be able to contest the presidential election, which has long been rumored that the party is looking for him to field a candidate for it in the upcoming 2027 general elections.
On the other hand, if the ADC and Peter Obi’s LP faction, which has a strong influence on southern politics, are not able to form a stable alliance with the ADC, the southern region has a good chance of re-contesting the Nigerian presidency under their Labour Party (LP), which would once again give the southern region the opportunity to field a strong candidate who will threaten the political influence of the southern region and divide the votes.
Considering that the ruling APC has long declared the incumbent President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR as its permanent candidate for the 2027 elections, it is seen that the southern region now has the potential to field three strong and influential candidates at the same time in the 2027 elections, where the entire southern vote will be fragmented into three influential people.
On the other hand, the ADC has also been joined by the voice of the opposition leader and a veteran politician from the North, who was a two-time Vice President and Presidential Candidate from 2007 to 2023, who has recently pledged to be the candidate under the ADC party. Until now, as ADC stands for "Unity," there's no confirmation of its slots or presidential tickets, even though from the North, Atiku Abubakar's voice has been the most influential now despite the fact that the North has the most votes and population in Nigeria.
On the other hand, Kwankwaso is seen as an obstacle to Atiku Abubakar's candidacy in the North, as he is a leader in the NNP party and holds the political leadership of Kano State, a major state with significant influence and votes in Northern politics.
The most influential statements have confirmed Kwankwaso's possibility of being the vice presidential candidate for one of the candidates who will come from the South under the opposition PDP, which, if confirmed, will only affect the PDP and its candidate, Goodluck Jonathan.
The North has a huge influence on the people and the number of votes. If the APC and other Political Parties approach 2027 in this situation, the influence of the ADC and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2027 elections will be inevitable, as he is the only candidate from the north who is currently being discriminated against due to the governance arrangements and partisan conflicts under the ruling party.
If the APC party allows itself to enter the hot times of politics without resolving the fire of partisan conflict that is plaguing the party now and discrimination against some part of the North, Atiku Abubakar and his ADC party have every chance of getting 75% of the Northern votes as the only influential presidential candidate from the region.
If he gets 75% of the votes from the North, he can get 15% from the South, leaving the remaining three candidates from the South to distribute 85% of the votes from their region and the remaining 25% from the North.
There is still ample opportunity for the ruling APC to look back and correct its mistakes before it is too late.
Mal. Ibrahim M. Nura
Journalist, politician, and political analyst from the northeast of Nigeria.
