A former Borno State governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ali Modu Sheriff, has dismissed the chances of Peter Obi winning the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the former Anambra State governor would struggle to secure support in northern Nigeria.
Sheriff made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, where he also defended President Bola Tinubu’s handling of national security and expressed confidence that the APC would retain power in the next general election.
Obi, who ran for president in 2023 on the Labour Party platform and finished third with more than six million votes, is expected to contest again in 2027 under the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
Despite that showing, Sheriff said Obi remains unelectable in the North.
“I am not worried about Peter Obi because I know Northerners will never vote for him,” he said.
Responding to the argument that Obi secured significant votes in states such as Plateau and Nasarawa in 2023, Sheriff said the political dynamics had since changed.
He alleged that Obi’s record as governor of Anambra State continues to influence perceptions in parts of the North.
“The situation is different now. When Peter Obi was governor, he chased Northerners out of Anambra State,” he claimed.
Sheriff also said some supporters of former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had warned against any political alliance involving Obi.
“This is what people in Kano are telling Kwankwaso now. They say they will support him if he contests for president, but not if he aligns with Peter Obi,” he said.
Turning to national security, Sheriff rejected Obi’s criticism of the Tinubu administration, which has faced repeated attacks over rising insecurity.
Obi has argued that the President should consider stepping aside if unable to guarantee the safety of Nigerians.
Sheriff countered that insecurity predated the current administration and said Tinubu should instead be assessed on his response to the challenge.
“We should not simply condemn the President because there is insecurity in Nigeria,” he said, pointing to the proposed introduction of state police as one of the government’s key interventions.
The APC stalwart also dismissed the prospects of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is expected to contest on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that political power should remain in the South until 2031.
He said Nigeria’s leaders had long maintained an informal understanding on power rotation between North and South to preserve national balance after the civil war.
“After the civil war, our leaders agreed that Nigeria should not continue on the old path. There is an understanding about regional balance,” he said.
“For Atiku, this is not the North’s turn. He is a respected leader and eminently qualified, but he has to wait until 2031. President Buhari completed eight years in office, so it is now the South’s turn.”
Sheriff said he remained confident that President Tinubu would win re-election in 2027, while stressing that the APC would continue to campaign actively rather than assume victory.
