Shehu Sani Warns Atiku’s 2027 Victory Will Permanently Disrupt Nigeria’s Regional Balance

Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has waded into the ongoing debate regarding the 2027 general elections, cautioning that a presidential victory for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar would spell the permanent collapse of the informal rotational presidency agreement.

Speaking during a current affairs interview, Sani clarified that while Atiku—like any other citizen—possesses the full constitutional right to contest, political parties should exercise strategic equity by fielding exclusively southern candidates for the upcoming ballot. He maintained that upholding the unwritten convention of power rotation is vital to preserving national stability, drawing parallels to the 2015–2023 political cycle when the North completed an eight-year presidency.

“If Atiku wins, it means that is the end of rotational presidency in Nigeria,” Sani stated. “And there is going to be hard and bitter feelings from the Southwestern part of Nigeria or the Southern part of Nigeria. I don’t think anyone would like to preside over a country full of hate, animosity, and conflict.”

Sani suggested that opposition platforms should let southern contenders battle out the contest among themselves to satisfy regional equity. According to him, honoring an eight-year cumulative term for the South will naturally clear the path for the North to demand an unchallengeable turn at the presidency by 2031.

Warning against the temptation to bypass regional consensus, Sani stressed that setting aside the rotation principle in 2027 establishes a dangerous precedent where future unwritten understandings will be routinely ignored, leaving the nation’s political landscape vulnerable to unending friction.