2027: Atiku, Obi making victory easy for Tinubu – Sule Lamido

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido,

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has stated that the inability of opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to form a united front is giving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) a significant advantage ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Mr Lamido made these remarks on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the 2027 general election and the ambitions of Nigeria’s leading political figures.

According to the former governor, the ruling party already benefits from a large bloc of serving and former governors, and a divided opposition only makes the path to victory easier for President Bola Tinubu.

“Because of the number of governors—both former and serving governors of the APC—and because Atiku and Obi divided their own forces, it gives them the advantage,” Mr Lamido said.

“So both Peter Obi and Atiku are simply handing over the victory, very easily because they cannot come together.”

He said the major presidential candidates—specifically naming President Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi—are driven by personal ambition and a desire for power rather than a commitment to solving the nation’s pressing challenges.

He warned that the country stands to suffer regardless of which of the three emerges victorious. “I have been saying, look, no one is going to tell you that it is for Nigeria. Whoever wins, Nigeria will lose. That is my problem. Whoever wins, whether Peter Obi or Atiku, in terms of our unity, our economy, our love as a country of brothers and sisters, it is all going down.”

Mr Lamido also criticised the current political climate, noting that rivalries have devolved into personal attacks rather than constructive debates.

He lamented the rise of propaganda, hate speech, and incitement in ongoing political activities particularly in northern Nigeria where politicians turn campaign arenas to hate speech, warning that campaigns have abandoned substance in favour of personality clashes.

“It is more about their personalities. They are building each other, attacking each other. Those things become very, very personal,” he said.

“A lot of things have gone wrong with 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 is not there anymore.”

Mr Lamido also dismissed the claim that he was backing President Tinubu, insisting in the interview that he remains faithful to the Wike-backed PDP faction and its presidential candidate.