Former presidential aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has asserted that Nigeria’s presidency will not return to the northern region in 2027, emphasizing the need to uphold the political power rotation arrangement between the North and South.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Monday, Okupe referenced historical precedents, particularly the events that led to the election of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, as an example of national consensus to address regional tensions.
Okupe highlighted the aftermath of the annulled 1993 presidential election, which was widely regarded as won by Chief MKO Abiola, and the subsequent need to placate the South-West.
This, he said, led to the unwritten agreement that produced both Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae as presidential candidates in 1999, ensuring the presidency was secured for the region.
“The truth is that there are stakeholders in this country and ways things have been managed since 1960.
“When Obasanjo became president, there was an unwritten national consensus that a south-western person will be president.
“The two candidates for that election were Obasanjo and Olu Falae. So head or tail, south-west wins,” Okupe said.
He argued that power rotation between the North and South is a political balancing mechanism that has kept the country united despite economic stagnation.
He further explained, “We rotate between the north and the south. The north does eight years, at the end of which the south does eight years. For 2027, we politicians, and I say this authoritatively, power cannot return to the north yet. That’s not how we do it.”
Okupe expressed concerns over the failure of past leaders to develop a younger elite class capable of effectively leading the country.
He attributed this to a lack of foresight and an over-reliance on sectionalism, which he described as “the most fundamental reason behind Nigeria’s stagnation.”
“Our failure to evolve a national elite system is one of the most fundamental problems why Nigeria is stagnating because we all pull in different directions,” he said.
The former spokesperson also criticized the absence of a cohesive national agenda among the political elite, lamenting that sectional interests often override national priorities.
While Okupe clarified that his stance did not endorse any specific candidate for 2027, he reiterated that the presidency should remain in the South to maintain political equilibrium.
“I’m not saying that Bola Tinubu must be president in 2027, but it’s not going to be a northerner,” he stressed.
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