A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso, has declared that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacks the political weight and northern acceptance once enjoyed by the late President Muhammadu Buhari to mount a threat to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Iliyasu Kwankwaso in a signed statement that was made available to media Houses
said the political dynamics of northern Nigeria had changed substantially, arguing that Atiku could no longer assume that Hausa-Fulani voters would rally behind him on the basis of ethnic or regional sentiment.
Kwankwaso maintained that unlike Buhari, whose political influence resonated deeply across the North, Atiku had failed to build a comparable political constituency capable of delivering the region to him in the 2027 presidential contest.
“Atiku is not Buhari. He does not possess the size, stature and acceptance of the late Nigerian President to pose a threat to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Kwankwaso said.
The APC stalwart also challenged Atiku’s political credentials, particularly his eight-year tenure as vice president, arguing that the former vice president had yet to present a compelling development footprint from his years at the centre of power as evidence of what he would offer Nigerians.
He stressed that the North has moved beyond the era when primordial considerations alone could determine electoral choices, insisting that voters are increasingly interested in leadership performance, development and issues capable of improving their livelihoods.
“The North has gone beyond primordial sentiment, and his penchant for relying on the ethno-religious card will certainly fail him,” he said, stressing that the 2027 contest would be shaped by changing political realities rather than sentiment.
Kwankwaso further alleged that Atiku’s political handlers were themselves conscious of his limited capacity to influence the Hausa-Fulani electorate, claiming that this informed what he described as desperate efforts to undermine or collapse the NDC under its banner.
He said the emerging political calculations ahead of 2027 would ultimately expose the limits of relying on ethnic and religious sentiments, expressing confidence that Tinubu would remain a formidable contender in the North despite attempts by opposition forces to build a regional coalition against the President.
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