SNYA Warns Atiku Against 2027 Bid, Insists Presidency Must Remain in South

The Southern Nigerian Youth Assembly (SNYA) has urged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to abandon his reported 2027 presidential ambition, arguing that allowing power to return to the North at this time would undermine Nigeria’s political balancing and national cohesion.

In a statement signed by its National President, Hon. Njoku Moses Chuks, and issued on Monday, September 7, 2026, the group said the South should be allowed to complete what it described as the current political arrangement.

The organisation, which claimed to speak for youths across the South-West, South-East and South-South, also accused Atiku of recycling controversies surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s age, educational credentials and legal matters in the United States.

According to the group, the issues had been raised repeatedly during previous electoral cycles and subjected to legal scrutiny, arguing that Atiku should instead focus on presenting Nigerians with fresh policy alternatives.

The SNYA further accused the former vice-president of attempting to claim ownership of economic reforms that President Tinubu’s administration is currently implementing, particularly in the areas of fuel subsidy reform, exchange-rate policy and economic restructuring.

The group argued that several of the policies being implemented by the Tinubu administration featured prominently in Atiku’s 2023 campaign proposals.

It also questioned Atiku’s political record, particularly his role in past political battles involving Southern presidents.

The organisation referenced the political crisis surrounding former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku’s eventual opposition to former President Goodluck Jonathan during the 2015 presidential election, describing the episodes as evidence of what it called a recurring pattern.

The SNYA said the South had taken note of the development and would resist any attempt to disrupt what it described as an understanding that presidential power should remain in the South for the current political cycle.

It added that Nigeria needed political stability, equity and respect for regional balance, insisting that the South was not seeking a favour but fairness.

The group consequently appealed to Atiku to reconsider his ambition and “retire from presidential politics”, saying there was dignity in recognising when a political chapter had ended.

However, it warned that if the former vice-president proceeded with his presidential bid, Southern youths would mobilise peacefully and lawfully against his campaign.

The group said such mobilisation would take place across communities, markets, campuses and media platforms, adding that it would oppose Atiku’s campaign and political alliances in the region.

“We will mobilise our people to ensure Atiku doesn’t campaign in Southern Nigeria,” the statement declared.

The SNYA also called on traditional rulers, civil society organisations, professional bodies, students, market groups and elder statesmen in the South to unite around what it described as the need to preserve regional balance.

It warned that any attempt to truncate the arrangement through political alliances could deepen existing divisions and further strain Nigeria’s fragile national cohesion.

The group maintained that the next four years should be allowed to run their full constitutional course, urging political actors to prioritise national stability over personal ambition.

The statement was signed by Hon. Njoku Moses Chuks, National President, Southern Nigerian Youth Assembly.