Atiku vs Tinubu: Who Should Inherit Buhari's Supporters in 2027?
- President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have been at loggerheads politically ahead of the 2027 elections
- The president and his major opponent's fight became expanded following the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and the quest to inherit his supporters immediately grows
- Omotayo Yusuf, a political commentator, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, explained why Tinubu has an edge above Atiku in gaining Buhari's supporters in the 2027 election
The death of former President Muhammadu Buhari has left a political vacuum in the north because of his large organic supporters. President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have been making moves to fill the vacuum and inherit the supporters of the late leader.
However, Omotayo Yusuf, a political commentator, while speaking with Legit.ng, explained why Tinubu may have an edge above Atiku in winning at some of the places Buhari had won elections before and why the former vice president may not fit in to inherit the late president's supporters.
Source: Twitter
Why Atiku did not fit in Buhari's shoe
Yusuf said:
"I think that, ideally, Atiku should have been in the best position to fill the vacuum left by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, two things stand in his way. Number one, he does not represent the same ideal of "talakania" policy and representation that Buhari exuded, even if falsely.
"I mean, in the north, Buhari was considered the president of the common man. It's not surprising that during Eid festivals, when he travelled to Daura, he enjoyed working from the mosque to his house, followed by hundreds of people chanting his name, Sai Baba and expressing their support.
"No other politician has had the same charisma or it stood there, and so that stands in the way of Atiku, who is considered an antithesis of Buhari. He is a former vice president. People perceive him as not only rich, but allegedly corrupt, upper-class, and so he does not represent the Buhari ideal that many northerners are familiar with or perceive to be something that they can relate to.
"In what many perceive as desperation, he has jumped from party to party, with no sense of loyalty, something that Buhari sort of consistently exuded. While Buhari might have moved parties, he had been within the same system, CPC to APC. So, Atiku has not represented that."
Why Tinubu may inherit Buhari's supporters
Yusuf further explained that the recent Tinubu's actions had positioned him to inherit the majority of the former president's supporters in the 2027 election. He said:
"Given that situation, I think President Bola Tinubu has taken advantage of Atiku's inability to step into that shoe to exalt Buhari and show that he is not Buhari's Second Coming, nor is he looking and feeling the shoe, but he stands by his leader, Nigeria's former president.
"Tinubu is a former political ally to an extent and also the former head of his party. And so he played an active role in the honour he received since his passing, and not just since his passing, but before his passing. The report that he sent Vice President to visit him in the hospital in the UK and then, after his passing, instructed the Vice President to go bring back the body, and he went to receive the body at the airport.
"He then followed the vehicle to Daura, where he was buried. He has been taking care of the family, even visiting, while his family is in Kaduna. He recently invited Buhari's son, Yusuf, to the State House.
"So he has made and taken actions that have reflected in his perpetual celebration and exaltation of Buhari, something that a lot of northerners have come to realise. So, if anybody's going to be benefiting from the vacuum, then I would say Bola Tinubu, who has politically positioned himself to benefit from this vacuum.
"Come 2027, Tinubu is more likely to win in areas that Buhari had won in previous elections, as Atiku has not demonstrated enough knowledge, enough capability and enough representation to step into that vacuum left by the person of Muhammadu Buhari."
Source: Twitter
Tinubu rejects two bills passed by Senate
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu gave reasons for refusing to sign two bills forwarded to him by the Senate into law.
According to the president, the first bill was the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2025.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read Tinubu's letter, also noted that the president did not assent to the National Assembly Library Fund bill with a reason.
Source: Legit.ng
