Doyin Okupe, a former presidential aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, believes that northern Nigeria is unlikely to regain power in 2027.

He made this statement while speaking on Arise TV on Monday, November 26, 2024, addressing those calling for a northern presidency in the next election.

Okupe argues that sectionalism is a major problem affecting Nigeria’s progress, adding that past leaders were more interested in national interest than sectional interest.

“I say this authoritatively without any fear of contradiction or equivocation, in 2027, power cannot return to the North yet. That’s not how we do it.

We rotate between the North and the South. The North does eight years, at the end of which the South does eight years.

I’m not saying that Bola Tinubu must be president in 2027, but it’s not going to be a northerner,” he explained,” Okupe said.

Okupe defended the reforms President Bola Tinubu had implemented, adding that soon the country would enjoy the benefits of his policies.

“Bola Tinubu has come with very serious reforms that will take the country from the situation that it had been undergoing for the last eight to ten years. This government has not been able to articulate this position, but those of us who are watching from the outside can see it. As of the time that the Bola Tinubu administration was coming into power, the country was finished. It was socially and economically finished.

We were spending 98% of our revenue. 98 cents on every dollar were being used for debt servicing. We were subsidizing fuel, power, virtually everything. There was severe and serious arbitrage in the forex market.

What did the Buhari administration do? They just went ahead to continue to print money. Until they printed up to 30 trillion. Nigerians did not feel it because the money was available, although it was not backed by anything.”