Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has criticised opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi for failing to unite ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying their division gives President Bola Tinubu an advantage.
Lamido said a united opposition would have posed a stronger challenge to Tinubu, suggesting that Atiku could have emerged as the presidential candidate, with Obi as his running mate.
He spoke on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he was asked whether the 2027 election could produce a similar outcome to the 2023 contest, in which Tinubu defeated Atiku and Obi.
“I think the way things are, the propaganda and support warfare is too much. It’s too intense for even Nigeria to be able to really understand what’s happening,” he said.
Lamido attributed the opposition’s difficulties partly to the number of serving and former governors in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as the failure of Atiku and Obi to work together.
“Because of the number of governors, both serving and former governors of the APC, and because Atiku and Obi divided their own force, it gives Tinubu the advantage,” he said.
He argued that the two opposition leaders were effectively strengthening Tinubu’s chances by pursuing separate political ambitions.
“So both Peter Obi and Atiku are simply handing Tinubu, very easily. But if they come together, it would have been a high-level canvas, you know, Atiku for president and Obi running mate, and then after four years, one takes over,” he said.
Whoever Wins?
However, Lamido said the political ambitions of the major contenders appeared to have taken precedence over national unity, warning that Nigerians would suffer regardless of who emerged victorious.
“I’ve been saying, look, whoever wins, Nigeria will lose. That’s my problem,” he said.
“Whoever, whether Peter Obi, Atiku, whoever wins, in terms of our unity, our economy, our love as a country of brothers and sisters, it’s all gone down. It’s more about their personalities. They are abusing each other. Those things become very, very personal.”
The former governor said his concern was not necessarily about which candidate won the election but the damage the political contest was doing to national cohesion.
He also expressed concern about the growing political tension, particularly in northern Nigeria, citing what he described as propaganda, hate campaigns and incitement.
According to him, political campaigns have moved away from discussions about national development, unity and what candidates can offer Nigerians.
“We’ve abandoned the traditional campaign on issues, about love, about empathy, about unity, about Nigeria, and then what can you offer? What can you offer? So it’s not there anymore,” he said.
2027 Presidential Election
The 2027 presidential election is expected to feature several prominent political figures, including President Tinubu of the APC, Atiku of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).
In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes to emerge winner, while Atiku came second with 6,984,520 votes. Obi finished third with 6,101,533 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for February 6.
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