2027: Tinubu Has Edge For Re-election, No Serious Challenger Yet – Tanko Yakasai

Elder statesman and founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Tanko Yakasai, has expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s re-election prospects, stating that no formidable challenger has emerged ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Yakasai noted that Tinubu currently enjoys the most robust political support base in the country.

“In Nigeria today, Bola Tinubu is the president; he has his ministers and governors who are backing him,” Yakasai said.

“Who else has all what it takes to move into the contest with the kind of stamina and strength to be more successful comparatively with Tinubu?”

He highlighted the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s dominance across many states and acknowledged the cooperation Tinubu receives even from governors in opposition parties.

“We should all wait and see if the picture will change drastically, otherwise for now, the odds are in his favour because I have not seen anything that will prevent him from winning the next election,” he added.

“He hasn’t done anything against the north, in my understanding, and the north alone cannot decide who becomes the president of the country.”

Addressing northern sentiments about the next election, Yakasai clarified that there has been no unified decision from the region’s political elite.

“I haven’t heard anybody making any proposition about the 2027 presidential election from Arewa Consultative Forum,” he said.

“What is tagged the Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders Forum’s position is mere individual opinions, because all sections of the north have not taken a stand on this.”

He further pointed out that ongoing divisions within opposition parties may ease Tinubu’s path to re-election. Though he refrained from rating the president’s performance, Yakasai called on political actors to shift their focus toward national interest and ideology-driven governance.

He said, “Our politicians should see politics as a dynamic game, and what I will advise is for them to play the game on the basis of ideology and programmes.

“Let them envision the way they want the country to be and not targeting to be ministers, governors and president.

“After becoming all these and nothing is done in the interest of the country, we will not get better.

“They should eschew politics of ethnicity and religion because not making our country the focal point of our politics has held us down for so long.”