Former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kebbi State, Mallam Salihu Isah Nataro, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would easily defeat former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election.

Nataro, who spoke to The Guardian against the background of the recent consultative meeting between Jonathan and the leadership of the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the recent Appeal Court ruling on the party’s crisis.

But, Nataro said that although he admires Atiku’s politics of persistent participation in presidential elections, former President Jonathan is admired by some youths due to his simplicity.

He noted that based on the past activities of both Atiku and Jonathan, when their party open up the treasury for desperate politicians to look, it would be hard for any of them to defeat the incumbent president.

The Kebbi State-born Public Accounts expert noted that President Tinubu is serious about his reform policies, stressing that the President has shown determination to correct observed shortcomings based on public opinion.

“I am not saying this as a die-hard Asiwaju supporter or out of grudges against Atiku and Jonathan. The reality is that as of now, the situation in the country makes it is impossible for Nigerians to vote for the two, because they cannot convince anybody that they would tackle economic reforms better than Tinubu.

“Youths of this country are expecting a framework that will get the country out of poverty, unemployment and insecurity, which to some extent were caused by Jonathan and Buhari for their failure to look at the root causes of the challenges and confront them head on,” he stated.

Nataro, who is also a Public Sector Reform advocate, disclosed that in his years as a representative of a Multi-national company in Argentina, he saw how painful reforms lead to sustainable economic prosperity.

While notng that the country is not yet out of the woods yet, he explained that Tinubu’s reforms have already overcome the teething problems that were associated with inefficient aides that lack capacity, as well as state governors’ failure to allow the benefits of democracy to trickle down to the grassroots.

His words: “The state governors failed to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President by pursuing grandiose projects that had no immediate bearing on the needs of the populace, thereby adding a burden on the federal government.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to create material wealth than any past and present leaders, because he was able through Atiku Abubakar to attract very good and effective team members, including Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nasir El-Rufai, Prof Charles Soludo, Nuhu Ribadu, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili among other experts to work on the economic team and they did very well.

“But, I’m not sure if Atiku and Jonathan can pull similar trigger due to their nature of only working with those old subordinates, instead of looking for fresh politicians to help develop the country.”

Nataro remarked that he is inclined to oppose the preponderance of academics in governance due to their slow policy formulation and execution caused by unending analyses and attention to details.

He added that Nigeria is in dire need for men with new skillsets and creativity rather than paper qualification, even as he urged President to make his office accessible to those willing to make meaningful contribution through various channels so as to make governance effective and efficient.