Why Atiku Can’t Be President – Okupe Speaks on Alleged Gang-Up Against Tinubu Ahead of 2027

Dr. Doyin Okupe, former Director-General of Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, has said former vice president Atiku Abubakar cannot win the 2027 presidential election.

News reports stated that Atiku contested the 2023 presidential election under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Atiku’s defeat in 2023 was his sixth unsuccessful bid for the presidency. He previously ran for the office in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Thursday, Okupe emphasized that the South, not the North, should produce the President in 2027, citing the need for fairness and balance in the country’s leadership.

According to Okupe, Atiku who was the 2023 PDP presidential candidate, is eminently qualified to contest in 2027, but his candidacy is problematic due to geopolitics, not age.

Okupe explained that the South should be allowed to complete its eight-year term, just as the North did before President Tinubu’s administration.

“Atiku failed in 2023, not because he was not a good person, but because people felt that a northern Muslim cannot succeed another northern Muslim after eight years.

“If Atiku still contests in 2027, he has a right. He is eminently qualified and one of the best we have, but geopolitics is an issue.

“The conditionality still persists; a Southerner would have just completed four years and needs another four-year term.

“It’s not in the constitution, but we agree that when a Northerner does his eight years, a Southerner will do.

“So, the North cannot now terminate the tenure of the South in 2027. It is not going to work,” Okupe said.

Okupe also said that Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, could vie for the highest office in 2027 as a Southerner. However, he noted that it would be challenging for Obi to unseat Tinubu.

Regarding potential alliances against Tinubu in 2027, Okupe said such alliances would fail due to the unwillingness of participants to make concessions. He cited the 2015 alliance that brought ex-President Buhari to power, where Tinubu conceded everything to make it work, as an example of successful cooperation.