Atiku Victory Could End Rotational Presidency- Sani

Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has said an electoral victory for African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in 2027 could mark the end of Nigeria’s informal rotational presidency arrangement.

Sani made the statement during an interview on Friday, while advocating for political parties to field presidential candidates from the southern part of the country in the 2027 election.

“If Atiku wins, it means that is the end of rotational presidency in Nigeria, and there is going to be hard and bitter feelings from the southern part of Nigeria,” Sani said.

He argued that allowing the South to complete an eight-year presidential tenure would make it easier for power to return to the North in 2031.

“I don’t think a northerner taking over power here will come in with ease and conveniently to the people in the southern part of Nigeria. But if we allow the South to have their eight years, by 2031, a northerner takes over, there will be no challenge from southern Nigeria. That is my own view,” he said.

Sani, however, acknowledged that the Nigerian Constitution does not prevent Atiku or any other northerner from contesting the presidency.

“I never said Atiku should not run. Constitutionally, he has a right to run for any election, but what I said was that a southern part of Nigeria should be allowed to have its eight-year tenure in office, just like the way the North has from 2015 to 2023,” he said.

He called on political parties to field southern candidates and allow them to compete for the presidency.

“The NDC should field Peter Obi, the APM should field Makinde, let the South struggle it out and see who wins for four years. And when the tenure is done by 2031, the North should have its unchallengeable opportunity to produce the leadership of the country,” Sani said.

He also argued that population size should not be used as a basis for one part of the country to dominate political power.

“You cannot say that because you have the largest electorate and population, so you should continue dominating politics,” he said.

Rotational presidency is an informal political arrangement under which political parties may alternate their presidential tickets between northern and southern Nigeria. It is not a constitutional requirement.

Sani’s comments come ahead of the 2027 presidential election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission currently lists for January 16, 2027.

The major political figures identified in the source report include President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress.

Sani’s comments represent his political position on zoning and rotational presidency; they do not alter the constitutional eligibility of candidates to contest the presidency.