2027: Ganduje dismisses Atiku, Obi’s chances, insists North will back Tinubu

By Jude Opara

A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will retain the support of Northern voters in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing the chances of opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
Speaking at a public event in Kano over the weekend, Ganduje described the North as the decisive bloc in Nigeria’s presidential elections and argued that neither Atiku nor Obi possesses the political machinery needed to secure victory in the region.
According to him, the two opposition leaders have yet to establish the grassroots structures required to challenge Tinubu, despite ongoing efforts by opposition parties to build alliances ahead of the polls.
“The North is strategic in every presidential election in Nigeria. With due respect to our friends in the opposition, neither Peter Obi nor Atiku Abubakar can mobilize sufficient support in this region to defeat President Tinubu in 2027,” Ganduje said.
The former Kano State governor also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to tighten the requirements for political party registration, arguing that only parties with functional nationwide structures, clear ideological identities and broad national presence should be eligible to participate in elections.
He maintained that stricter registration standards would strengthen Nigeria’s democratic process by limiting participation to viable political parties.