Atiku, Kwankwaso will split the Northern vote in Tinubu’s favor- Shettima

There are scenarios in which Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would win the Northern vote if Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) both run for president.

Through his Kwankwasiyya organization, which has its headquarters in Kano State, Kwankwaso boasts a sizable following in the North.

Similar to Kwankwaso, Atiku has a sizable fan base in the North, which could cause a split in Northern votes during the February elections.

However, observers claim that despite Kwankwaso and Atiku splitting the Northern vote, Tinubu would win the February election because to the 14 APC governors in the area.

Fredrick Nwabufo, said: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the candidate with the obvious advantage.

“There are 14 APC governors in the northern States who are supporting Asiwaju, coupled with the popularity of President Muhammadu Buhari in the north, who is on the campaign trail with Asiwaju. No other candidate comes close to the goodwill Asiwaju Tinubu enjoys in the north.”

Also, the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF, National President, Yerima Shettima said most of the governors in the North are APC members, who would go all out to ensure that Tinubu wins the February election.

Shettima: “There are all possibilities that it’s what would happen next month because they are the only two Northern candidates; they have their forces and little structures; this is why this favours the APC presidential candidate.

“Tinubu knows that the North is going to be more useful and productive because he knows he’s going to have the Southwest and will likely divide the votes in the South South.

“Going by my analysis as a lay man, the votes will be in favour of the APC candidate.

“The Southeast which is Atiku’s stronghold, Peter Obi has dominated that region.

“The vote will not go one way this time; Shettima is a stakeholder in the Northern part of the country and he is going to have sympathy votes. At the end of the day, APC will have an upper hand. Most of the Northern governors will vote in favour of their party.”