The 2027 presidential race has acquired another layer of political arithmetic after former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani said an Atiku Abubakar victory would effectively bring the curtain down on Nigeria’s informal rotational presidency arrangement. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sani stressed that Atiku has the constitutional right to contest, but argued that the South should first complete an eight-year presidential tenure before power returns to the North.
Shehu Sani Says Atiku Has Constitutional Right to Contest in 2027
Sani’s position comes with an interesting political balancing act: he says nobody should tell Atiku that he cannot contest because the Constitution does not prohibit him from running. At the same time, he maintains that political considerations, fairness and national unity should guide the 2027 contest. In other words, the legal door remains open while the political signpost is pointing somewhere else.
The senator’s argument is built around the fact that Muhammadu Buhari, from the North, served two terms from 2015 to 2023, while Bola Tinubu, from the South, became president in 2023. Sani therefore argues that the South should be allowed to complete eight years before the presidency returns northward in 2031. The satirical complication is that Nigeria’s presidential mathematics now appears to require both constitutional law and an unofficial regional timetable sitting at the same table.
If Atiku Wins, Shehu Sani Says the Rotation Rule Gets a Farewell Party
Sani said that if Atiku wins in 2027, it would mean the informal principle of rotational presidency has effectively ended. He also warned that such an outcome could generate strong reactions in parts of the South, while arguing that a southern successor to Tinubu would allow the North to have its turn in 2031 without the same regional objections. These are Sani’s political assessments, rather than constitutional provisions.
The bigger issue is that rotational presidency has never been written into Nigeria’s Constitution. It has instead operated as an informal political understanding used by parties and political actors when negotiating presidential tickets and regional representation. With INEC’s 2027 presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, the debate is therefore not simply about who is legally eligible, but also about whether an unwritten political convention should influence who seeks the office.
For now, Atiku remains constitutionally entitled to contest, while Sani remains firm that his preferred political arrangement should see southern candidates compete in 2027 and the North return to the presidency in 2031. With the political season gathering momentum, Nigerians may soon discover whether the 2027 contest will be decided mainly by ballots, party strategies, regional calculations—or, as Nigerian politics sometimes demonstrates, a combination of all three. OGM News NG will continue watching this developing story and bring readers further updates as the presidential race unfolds.
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