• Baba-Ahmed insists north will resist APC’s vote-buying moves

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Musa Kwankwaso, has dismissed the chances of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to replicate the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s northern political appeal against the incumbent President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

Kwankwaso said in a statement that the political dynamics of Northern Nigeria had changed significantly, arguing that Atiku can no longer rely on ethnic and regional sentiments to secure widespread support among the Hausa-Fulani voters.

Nevertheless, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said that supporters of Tinubu and his ruling APC would be making a mistake by underestimating northern voters ahead of the 2027 election.

In a post on Facebook, Baba-Ahmed asked what campaign leaders seeking Tinubu’s re-election would tell residents of Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Kwara, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi and Nasarawa states.
According to Baba-Ahmed, the ruling party’s campaign game plan would involve distributing money on an unprecedented scale in an attempt to influence voters.

He added that northern voters would demonstrate that their voices and dignity matter, adding that financial inducements would not necessarily erase grievances against the government.

However, the APC chieftain maintained that Buhari, who enjoyed considerable political followership across the North during his lifetime, had a level of acceptance that Atiku had yet to demonstrate.

He questioned Atiku’s record during his eight years as vice president under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, challenging him to demonstrate the achievements of his time in office and explain how they would inform his proposals for Nigeria.

According to Kwankwaso, voters in the North are increasingly concerned about leadership performance, development and policies that can improve their livelihoods, rather than ethnic or religious considerations alone.

He further alleged that Atiku’s political associates were concerned about his ability to attract Hausa-Fulani voters, claiming that this had influenced what he described as efforts to undermine or collapse the NDC under its banner.

The APC chieftain expressed confidence in Tinubu’s political standing in the North, arguing that opposition efforts to build a regional coalition against him would be tested by the changing political calculations ahead of the 2027 election.