Obi was the true winner of 2023 election but I don’t know if I’d support him in 2027 as things have changed - Babachir Lawal

 

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal says the yardstick for selecting presidential candidates has shifted since the 2023 general election, signalling that his political choices in 2027 may not mirror those of the last poll.

 

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Lawal, who backed Peter Obi of the Labour Party in 2023 said the political landscape has evolved significantly. “They say a day in politics is long. Things have changed. The parameters we used to evaluate our candidate in 2023 are going to be different this time,” he noted. “Things have moved on, so we’ll see when we get there. We’ll see how it goes.”

 

Despite this, Lawal alleged that Obi was the “true winner” of the 2023 presidential election.

 

On the 2027 race, he stressed that the north must rally behind a candidate who understands its problems and is committed to tackling them. He revealed that a coalition of northern politicians outside government, known as the Nigerian People’s Consultative Political Forum (North), was formed to foster unity in the region.

 

“The idea is that we get together and bring unity to this north. There is disunity among us, and we analyse what this disunity means, what causes it, and how we can ameliorate it,” he explained. “We agreed that we must vote as a bloc. If we don’t vote as a bloc, we will not be able to achieve our goals.”

 

Lawal added that the group had resolved to consolidate within a single political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as a platform to negotiate power. He stressed that their support in 2027 would go to any candidate, “whether the person is a northerner or a southerner, even if he’s from heaven,” so long as they grasp and commit to addressing the north’s challenges.

 

At the national level, he mentioned key figures such as Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, and Atiku Abubakar among potential contenders, while noting that others may still enter the race. He concluded that the choice of Nigeria’s next leader should transcend partisan loyalty and ethnic sentiment.