Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has said that an electoral victory for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election would mark the end of Nigeria’s informal rotational presidency arrangement.
Sani made the statement on Friday, September 25, 2026, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the zoning of political power ahead of the 2027 election.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is constitutionally eligible to contest the presidency. Sani stressed that his argument was not that Atiku should be prevented from participating in the election.
Rather, he said political parties should consider fairness, equity and national unity when deciding who should contest the presidency in 2027.
“I never said Atiku should not run. Constitutionally, he has the right to run for any election,” Sani said.
However, he argued that the South should be allowed to complete what he described as an eight-year presidential tenure before power returns to the North in 2031.
Sani said the North had its eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2023, and argued that the South should similarly have an opportunity to complete an eight-year cycle.
According to him, the 2027 election should therefore feature candidates from the southern part of the country competing among themselves.
He cited several politicians he believes could participate in such a contest, including President Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
“All the parties. Like the ADC now, they’re supposed to field Amaechi. The NDC should field Peter Obi, and the APM, field Makinde. Let the South struggle it out and see who wins, and for four years,” he said, according to the interview reported by Channels Television and Punch.
Sani maintained that the arrangement would allow the South to complete eight years before the North gets another opportunity to produce the president in 2031.
Rotational presidency not constitutional
The former senator acknowledged that rotational presidency is not contained in Nigeria’s Constitution.
Instead, he described it as a political principle that should be considered because of Nigeria’s history and the need to maintain a sense of fairness among the country’s different regions.
“There are things that are not written in our constitution, but in the interest of justice, fairness, equity, and peace, we need to consider all these things,” Sani said.
He argued that political power should not remain concentrated in one part of the country simply because that region has a larger population or electorate.
Sani further warned that an Atiku victory in 2027 could create resentment in the South because it would place another northerner in the presidency immediately after Tinubu.
“If Atiku wins, it means that is the end of rotational presidency in Nigeria,” he said, adding that he believed such an outcome could generate “hard and bitter feelings” in the South.
His comments come as political parties and presidential contenders prepare for the 2027 general election. The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the presidential election for January 16, 2027.
Sani defends Christopher Musa
During the same television appearance, Sani also defended Defence Minister Christopher Musa following the minister’s recent comments concerning former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and insecurity in Southern Kaduna.
Sani said many Nigerians commenting on the controversy had little direct knowledge of the communities affected by years of violence.
He specifically mentioned areas including Sanga, Kauru, Kachia, Kagarko, Banchiki and Kafanchan, arguing that some commentators were relying largely on newspaper reports rather than personal knowledge of the communities.
The controversy followed comments by Musa about the security situation in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure as governor. The issue has generated competing reactions from political and community figures.
Sani alleged that Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state experienced prolonged attacks during El-Rufai’s administration and claimed that the state government did not provide sufficient support to security agencies.
He also alleged that the former administration failed to take adequate measures to stop the violence.
Those claims represent Sani’s assessment of the former administration’s record, rather than an established finding in the material reviewed.
Sani’s latest remarks therefore combine two politically sensitive issues: the debate over regional rotation ahead of the 2027 presidential election and the continuing dispute over the handling of insecurity in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s time as governor.
