2027 Presidency: List of 70-Year-Olds Who Could Contest in Election
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering elections, public affairs, and governance.
FCT, Abuja - When 78-year-old Donald Trump won the 2024 United States (US) presidential election earlier in November, he became the oldest person to achieve that feat in America (by age).
Although in politics, it appears there is no age that is too old for an individual to become president, some Nigerians often clamour for younger aspirants.
Like Trump, the current Nigerian leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a septuagenarian. Considering his political might, he would surely be one of the frontrunners in the 2027 presidential election if he scoops his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), ticket.
In this report, Legit.ng highlights three 70-year-olds who could contest in the 2027 Nigerian presidential election.
1) Atiku Abubakar
In May, former vice president Atiku Abubakar said he would continue to run for the presidency of Nigeria if he is healthy, despite the challenges his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently facing.
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Atiku has contested to become Nigeria’s president six times within three decades, his most recent attempt being in the 2023 presidential election as the PDP candidate.
At his last endeavour, the 78-year-old garnered 6,984,520 votes to come second in the poll won by Bola Tinubu of the APC who scored 8,794,726.
2) Bola Tinubu
Although President Tinubu said in October that his focus is not on the 2027 election, his party boasted a month later that their main man will sweep the poll again in 2027. This projection shows that the ruling APC is already looking forward to 2027 with Tinubu, 72, on their mind.
Bala Ibrahim, the national publicity director of the APC, said in an interview with The Punch:
“With the way and manner this administration of APC is working assiduously, bringing in new reforms and changes that are painful initially, we will reap the gains and fruits in the long run.
“We expect to start seeing the fruits of these reforms right around the time of the election. That should be around 2026 and 2027. It is at that time people will start clapping for the party and the president.”
3) Tunde Bakare
Bakare, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, is a popular pastor, based in Lagos. Presently, he is an opposition figure.
Apart from religious duties, Bakare was the running-mate of the presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, in the 2011 presidential election.
Bakare has been critical of Nigeria's leadership and has sparked controversy with comments that have ignited debates. In 2019, Bakare announced his intention to run for president of Nigeria following the end of Buhari's second term in 2023. However, he fell short of his aspiration, losing the APC ticket at the primaries in 2022 after he scored zero votes.
Tinubu beat all the other aspirants to the ticket, polling 1,217 delegate votes.
Former transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, and vice president Yemi Osinbajo polled 316 votes and 235 votes to finish second and third respectively.
Bakare; former Imo governor, Rochas Okorocha; former information minister, Ikeobasi Mokelu; and the industrialist, Tein Jack-Rich, all got zero votes.
The aspirants paid N100 million each for the presidential ticket.
2027: Okupe against power return to north
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Doyin Okupe, former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign, emphasised that power should not return to the north and President Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Okupe argued that it is crucial to adhere to the principle of rotating power between the North and the South, rather than having a concentrated political cycle.
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Source: Legit.ng
