Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has said the decision by some opposition governors to align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections is largely driven by political survival, electoral calculations and the interests of their respective states.
Sani, who spoke on Tuesday as a guest on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, specifically mentioned Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo as politicians who had assessed their options and considered cooperation with the Federal Government more beneficial.
According to him, the governors are looking beyond immediate political differences and calculating how their relationships with the Federal Government could benefit their states and strengthen their own political futures.
“If you are a politician, you look at both sides of what will be better for your present and also for your future. And strategically, what will also be easier for your people,” Sani said.
He added that the governors had “weighed the two options” and concluded that identifying with Tinubu was politically safer because, in his assessment, there was no opposition figure with sufficient national reach to provide a stronger alternative.
Sani said Soludo, who governs Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, would find it difficult to align completely with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar because of Atiku’s limited political strength in the state.
He also argued that Soludo would not want to restrict his political future to the South-East by aligning exclusively with Peter Obi.
“Soludo cannot identify with Atiku, because Atiku has no support in his state, and he also cannot identify with Peter Obi, because he knew the limitations of Peter Obi is only within South-East, and he does not want to cage himself to that,” he said.
The former senator said a similar calculation applied to Otti, arguing that the Abia governor would be seeking to position the state within the broader national political structure rather than being confined to the South-East.
“So, he is taking Abia to the mainstream,” Sani said.
On Adeleke, Sani said the Osun governor also understood the importance of maintaining a working relationship with the President after securing his re-election.
“He has won his election, and Tinubu has stopped any form of interference to tamper with that,” he said.
Sani argued that Adeleke could not afford to adopt a confrontational posture towards the President because political battles often require strategic calculations by elected officials.
“People who wanted Adeleke to be confrontational against the President, he is a politician, and he knew that very well, that despite that he has won elections, that he still has battle to fight,” he said.
The former lawmaker further described the relationship between Adeleke and Tinubu as one based on mutual political interests, stressing that both men could derive benefits from maintaining a working relationship.
“Adeleke needs Tinubu. Tinubu needs Adeleke,” Sani said.
He also pointed to the Federal Government’s intervention in the controversy surrounding the freezing of the Osun State Government’s account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as an indication of why the governor could not completely sever ties with the Presidency.
Sani maintained that political considerations often take precedence over ideological differences among Nigerian politicians, particularly when elected officials are seeking to protect their positions and advance the interests of their constituents.
“If you are a politician, before you think of any policy or programme, you first of all have to think of winning an election and remaining on your seat because politics is the vehicle to other things,” he said.
“You must secure your seat first. You must secure your state first before you think of the next thing to do.”
The former senator said political competence alone was insufficient to guarantee electoral success, arguing that politicians must understand the country’s political structure and build alliances capable of delivering electoral victories.
“You can be the most competent person in Nigeria, you can be the best person in Nigeria, but you have to go through the political ritual for you to assume political office,” he said.
Sani further argued that Tinubu’s perceived national spread gives him an advantage over opposition figures whose political influence, according to him, is concentrated largely in specific regions.
“If you pick Atiku, who is from the North, then you ask him who is going to deliver the Southern part of Nigeria to him. Who is going to deliver the South-West or the South-East? He has virtually none,” he said.
He similarly questioned the ability of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to provide a nationwide political alternative capable of challenging Tinubu across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.
According to him, the absence of a broadly accepted opposition platform has made cooperation with the Presidency a more attractive option for governors who are primarily concerned about the political and economic interests of their states.
The comments come amid a growing realignment of political forces ahead of the 2027 elections. Adeleke has publicly endorsed Tinubu’s re-election bid, while his spokesperson had previously confirmed that the Osun PDP adopted the President for the 2027 presidential election.
Sani, however, cautioned against interpreting the governors’ support for Tinubu as an endorsement of everything the administration has done.
“Asiwaju may not be the best of persons, will not have delivered everything they want, but there is virtually the other side of the opposition,” he said.
He maintained that the emerging political alliances should be understood within the realities of Nigerian politics, where politicians frequently adjust their alliances based on electoral prospects, access to the centre and the interests of their constituents.
Sani said the ultimate consideration for elected officials was to protect their political positions while ensuring that their states were not isolated from the Federal Government.
“Once you win your state, the next is you think of the broader goal of the people of your state in terms of the gains they can get from the centre,” he said.
