Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacks the deep-rooted political clout and regional acceptance enjoyed by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, making it impossible for him to mount a formidable challenge against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
This assessment was made by All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Dr. Iliyasu Musa Kwankwaso during an interactive press briefing held on Monday morning, October 19, 2026, at the party’s regional operational center in Abuja.
Speaking to journalists during the briefing, Dr. Kwankwaso asserted that northern Nigerian voters have evolved past reliance on ethnic and religious sentiments when making electoral decisions. He emphasized that performance, infrastructure development, and economic transformation are now the primary benchmarks for northern voters ahead of the 2027 poll.
”The North has gone beyond primordial sentiment, and his penchant for relying on the ethno-religious card will certainly fail him. The emerging political calculations ahead of 2027 will ultimately expose the limits of relying on ethnic and regional sentiments,” Kwankwaso stated.
Kwankwaso noted that while the late President Muhammadu Buhari commanded an organic, cult-like political followership across Northern Nigeria, popularly referred to as the “Buhari factor”, Atiku cannot replicate such allegiance or count on the Hausa-Fulani electorate as a guaranteed voting bloc.
Highlighting the political dynamics in the region, Kwankwaso cited massive federal capital interventions under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as key reasons for the North’s continued alignment with the ruling party.
According to Kwankwaso, the administration has allocated trillion-naira federal road, agricultural, and energy projects across northern states while ensuring the completion of critical inherited infrastructure.
”A common man in the North has come to realise real development under Tinubu,” he said. “They have seen it, felt it, and are convinced of Tinubu’s love for the region. The North has so many dividends to count under Tinubu than to gamble a golden opportunity.”
Dismissing opposition alignment strategies, Kwankwaso added that Atiku’s political handlers are well aware of his diminishing electoral appeal in the North. He described recent coalition efforts within opposition platforms as desperate attempts to build regional alliances that would ultimately fail to withstand the ruling party’s developmental track record.
As political parties begin early consultations for the 2027 general election, the APC leadership maintained that President Tinubu remains well-positioned to maintain a dominant share of northern votes based on verifiable governance outcomes rather than regional rhetoric.
