{"id":232120,"date":"2025-07-09T13:11:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T13:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/2027-okonkwo-backs-northerner-says-tinubu-will-win-if-coalition-presents-southerner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T13:11:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T13:11:59","slug":"2027-okonkwo-backs-northerner-says-tinubu-will-win-if-coalition-presents-southerner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/2027-okonkwo-backs-northerner-says-tinubu-will-win-if-coalition-presents-southerner\/","title":{"rendered":"2027: Okonkwo Backs Northerner, Says Tinubu Will Win If Coalition Presents Southerner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>2027: Okonkwo Backs Northerner, Says <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>Will Win If Coalition Presents Southerner<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>A member of the opposition coalition, Kenneth Okonkwo, says President Bola <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>will win if the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presents a southern presidential candidate like Peter Obi as its flag bearer in the 2027 election.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,\u201d Okonkwo said on Channels Television\u2019s <em>Politics Today<\/em> programme on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2027: Okonkwo Backs Northerner, Says Tinubu Will Win If Coalition Presents Obi\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-_AdFq9Q1Yk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, Okonkwo was one of the spokespersons for Obi, the Labour Party\u2019s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, but he parted ways with the former Anambra governor and dumped the Labour Party in July 2024 over the party\u2019s internal squabbles and Obi\u2019s failure to address them.<\/p>\n<p>Tinubu, who trounced his closest rivals, Atiku and Obi, in the 2023 poll and assumed office in May 2023, is seeking re-election in 2027 to complete the country\u2019s eight-year unwritten rule on rotation of power between the two major regions of the country \u2013 the southern and northern regions. Before Tinubu, Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military general from the North-West zone of the country, was in power between May 2015 and May 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_914250\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-914250\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-914250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Buhari_Atiku.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Buhari_Atiku.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Buhari_Atiku-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-914250\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former President Muhammadu Buhari receives Atiku Abubakar and others in Kaduna State on April 11, 2025. Credit: X\/@atiku<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Okonkwo said <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has \u201cbecome incurably bad and we want to terminate his incumbency\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnybody telling you it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>will win outright,\u201d Okonkwo said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_939852\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-939852\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-939852\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh-300x162.jpg 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-939852\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/jvsh-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-939852\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Obi on Channels Television\u2019s Sunday Politics programme on July 6, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Why Obi Can\u2019t Win\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>He said since the APC is presenting <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>to be its flag bearer, the opposition coalition must present a northerner to challenge him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet 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\u2019t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeter 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_938823\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-938823\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-938823\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/coalition-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/coalition-1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/coalition-1-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-938823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Obi, Rauf Aregbesola, Atiku Abubakar, Aminu Tambuwal at the coalition meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the 2027 polls, talks about an inter-party alliance reached a climax on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, when opposition arrowhead Atiku Abubakar, alongside Obi, ex-Senate president David Mark, ex-minister Rauf Aregbesola, ex-minister Rotimi Amaechi, ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, amongst others, adopted the ADC as the platform by the opposition coalition to oust incumbent <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>whose administration has been accused of mismanaging the economy, with all-time high inflation and unprecedented cost of living.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition is banking on the numerical strength of the votes recorded by Atiku and Obi in the last poll. In 2023, Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party\u2019s Obi came second and third respectively with combined votes of over 12 million, more than four million above the total votes recorded by <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/tinubu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tinubu <\/a>who was declared the winner by electoral umpire INEC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>ADC coalition,Atiku Abubakar,Peter Obi<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/2025\/07\/08\/okonkwo-backs-northerner-says-tinubu-will-win-if-coalition-presents-southerner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2027: Okonkwo Backs Northerner, Says Tinubu Will Win If Coalition Presents Southerner \u00a0 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[363,439,274],"class_list":["post-232120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-adc-coalition","tag-atiku-abubakar","tag-peter-obi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}