2027: Atiku will lose polling unit to Tinubu, APC declares

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA — Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ali Bukar Dalori, has predicted that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar will lose even his polling unit in Adamawa State to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), hails from Adamawa State.

Dalori, who spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the graduation ceremony of women trained under the Tinubu-Shettima Village-to-Village campaign, also predicted that Tinubu would defeat Atiku in Borno, Yobe and other states in the North-East.

“I don’t think that Atiku can disrupt the North-East. Why? Even Adamawa, his hometown, he will not win, even at his polling unit. I will assure you of that,” he said.

Dalori said his prediction was informed by his experience as a grassroots politician and his understanding of the region’s political dynamics.

He cited ongoing federal road projects as a major factor he believes would boost the APC’s chances in the region.

The projects, he said, included the Gombe-Bauchi and Bauchi-Maiduguri roads, as well as the Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala corridor linking Nigeria with Chad.

He also referred to sections of the Maiduguri-Biu road that had previously been left incomplete, arguing that the continuation of such projects could strengthen the ruling party’s appeal to voters.

Dalori said residents would consider the projects when deciding whom to support in 2027, adding that the contest should not be judged solely on Atiku’s place of origin or past electoral performance.

In the 2023 presidential election, Atiku, then the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won Adamawa and other states in the North-East, while Tinubu secured the presidency despite losing several northern states to opposition parties.

Dalori also defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange regime, describing them as necessary measures to stabilise public finances and reposition the economy.

He acknowledged that the reforms had generated debate and concerns over the cost of living but argued that they should be assessed alongside the administration’s infrastructure projects and other development initiatives.

The APC chieftain also cited Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s origin as a factor he believes could strengthen the party’s prospects in the North-East.

“Shettima is from Borno, from the North-East. He is our son. Because of that, we can do everything to ensure that Tinubu comes back for a second term,” Dalori said.

Meanwhile, National Coordinator of the Tinubu-Shettima Village-to-Village campaign, Ambassador Farida Musa Jauro, pledged to mobilise more than one million votes for Tinubu across northern Nigeria through grassroots engagement and political sensitisation.

Jauro said she had been convinced of Tinubu’s leadership capacity since a childhood encounter in Lagos during her secondary school years, when he stopped to share groundnuts with her and a friend.

She argued that the President should be allowed to complete a second term.

Director of Planning for the campaign, Engr. Aishata Aliyu Umar, said 1,000 women had benefited from vocational training sponsored by Jauro, who holds the traditional title of Dawisun Mubi.

Umar urged the graduates to establish businesses, join cooperatives and share their newly acquired skills with other women in their communities.

The Director of the Village-to-Village initiative, Alhaji Salisu Sheriff, also encouraged the graduates to use their training to improve their livelihoods and contribute to community development.