With 910 days left until Nigeria’s February 20, 2027 presidential election, the political landscape is already heating up as if the polls are just around the corner.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has set the timetable, but political players, particularly in the North, are deep in consultations and strategic realignments, signaling the start of a fierce contest.
Despite President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, being just 15 months into his first 48-month term, Northern political leaders are reportedly seeking a candidate who will serve a single term before power returns to the North.
The North-South power rotation principle is driving this strategy, with some Northern leaders allegedly pushing for a Southern candidate to serve from 2027 to 2031, to balance the eight years the North held the presidency under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Among the names being floated for a potential run is former President Goodluck Jonathan, paired with Governor Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State.
This ticket is being promoted by the Northern political group, Let Nigeria Breathe Again, which argues that Jonathan’s leadership and integrity make him the ideal candidate to unite the country.
“Jonathan, since leaving office in 2015, has committed no sins against anyone. His leadership qualities and integrity are beyond reproach,” said Mustapha Aliyu Lere, the group’s leader.
Lere also praised Fintiri’s governance in Adamawa State, citing his transformation efforts over the past five years.
However, Jonathan’s potential candidacy faces a significant legal hurdle.
A 2018 constitutional amendment, signed into law by President Buhari, prevents a vice president or deputy governor who completes the term of their predecessor from seeking the office more than once.
Jonathan, who succeeded President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 and won the 2011 election, is therefore ineligible to run again.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties are in talks to form a strong coalition to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Labour Party’s Peter Obi has been seen in strategic meetings with key figures such as Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
These meetings are believed to be part of efforts to realign forces ahead of 2027.
Atiku, during a meeting with the Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, last November, stressed the importance of the opposition uniting to prevent Nigeria from becoming a one-party state.
“Our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system. We must come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create,” Atiku warned.
Adding to the tension, several Northern groups have expressed dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s administration.
They accuse the President of neglecting Northern interests and stacking key government positions in favor of his Yoruba ethnic group.
Prominent among the dissenters is the Northern Elders’ Forum, whose member, Prof. Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation under Tinubu’s leadership, describing it as “deception, destitution, and hopelessness.”
Amidst the growing dissatisfaction in the North, the Niger Delta Ex-Agitators Forum has called for solidarity among Southern leaders.
The group’s chairman, Ambassador Alban Paulinus, criticized what he described as a Northern plot to undermine Southern leadership, similar to what they believe happened to former President Jonathan.
“During Buhari’s tenure, despite significant security challenges, Northern leaders stood by him for two terms. Yet, here we are, with calls for Tinubu’s removal barely a year into his administration,” Paulinus said.
The forum warned that continued provocations might force them to take decisive actions to protect their region’s interests.
