Thursday July 10, 2025
By TheNewsDESK |
A member of the opposition coalition, Kenneth Okonkwo, says President Bola Tinubu will win if the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presents a southern presidential candidate like Peter Obi as its flag bearer in the 2027 election.
The actor-turned-lawyer said that to unseat Tinubu, the ADC coalition should present a northern political heavyweight in the toga of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, ex-Sokoto governor Aminu Tambuwal, among others.
“My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,” Okonkwo said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
“It must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support.
“If the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not?
“If the whole north is willing to support a Tambuwal, why not? The person must be qualified, and if he has experience in the presidency, it is an added advantage, and when he puts up something from the south, that will push him through,” he said.
On Tuesday, Okonkwo said Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has “become incurably bad and we want to terminate his incumbency”.
“Anybody telling you it’s injustice if the north comes in, if the south comes in, and whoever wins in a primary election will take it for four years. Where is the injustice? It has happened before.
“Anybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu and Tinubu will win outright,” Okonkwo said.
He said since the APC is presenting Tinubu to be its flag bearer, the opposition coalition must present a northerner to challenge him.
“If you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him.
“Let me tell you the strategy that will make the Southeast man to be president. Do you know the South-West has never contested an election against an incumbent? Strategy? Because they know that in Nigeria, if you don’t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.
“Peter Obi won the election in 2023, and they stole it from us. If you do it again, they will steal it from him because there is no incumbent to back you, but if you bring somebody from the north, nobody will prevail on him to leave his victory because he is not from the same side as you,” he said.
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