Former Borno governor says Northerners will not back Obi

A former governor and senior member of Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress has dismissed the presidential prospects of opposition figure Peter Obi, arguing he cannot win Northern votes and is driven by personal ambition. Ali Modu Sheriff made the remarks during a television interview on Monday, July 6, 2026, as political maneuvering intensifies ahead of the 2027 general election.

Sheriff, a former governor of Borno State, claimed that Obi, who finished third in the 2023 presidential election, would not succeed in 2027 because voters in Nigeria's northern region would not support him. "I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi," Sheriff said. When reminded that Obi had won substantial votes in northern states like Plateau and Nasarawa in 2023, Sheriff dismissed the comparison, alleging that Obi's past actions as governor of Anambra State had alienated northerners. "The situation is different now," Sheriff said. "Peter Obi, when he was a governor, chased all the Northerners out of Anambra State."

He further claimed that supporters of former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso were opposed to any political...