The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has declared that he has no favourite candidate in the 2027 presidential election.

Abubakar made the remark while denying reports of him urging Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu’s reelection in 2027.

Abubakar insisted that he has no favourite candidate in the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Prince Bashir Adefaka, the monarch said as a father to all, it’s not possible to support one candidate over others either privately or publicly.

The statement reads partly: “The attention of the Media Team of the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has been drawn to a report circulating on some social media platforms, creating the impression that the Sultan has called on Nigerians to support the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

“Our simple response to the report is that it is not possible for the Sultan, as the father of all, to make such a statement, either publicly or in any other forum.”

The monarch noted that such reports were malicious and an unpatriotic attempt to drag him into partisan politics for selfish interests.

He added: “The Sultan’s doors cannot be shut against anyone who comes to him, regardless of political affiliation or persuasion. His Eminence has consistently demonstrated that he is the father of all and will continue to relate with all Nigerians without discrimination.”

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has warned that Nigeria could slide into a deeper crisis within the next four years unless its current political and economic trajectory is urgently reversed.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, the former Cross River State governor said the worsening state of the country compelled him to return to frontline politics, stressing that remaining a spectator was no longer an option.

“The direction the country is going requires very urgent intervention. In another four years, if we don’t change the trajectory, disaster — which is already looming — will deepen further,” Duke said.

The former governor explained that the country’s mounting economic hardship, insecurity and governance challenges informed his decision to seek the presidency under the PRP.

“It’s the urgency — the clear and apparent urgency of where we are today. You could be a spectator and make all sorts of analysis, or you can get involved,” he said.

Duke attributed Nigeria’s current challenges to weak economic growth, poor governance and what he described as years of leadership failure.

“A combination of all. The economy is broken; it’s not growing. Call it Boko Haram, call it ISWAP, call it banditry or kidnapping — those are the fallout. Those are the symptoms of inadequacy,” he said.

According to him, successive administrations have prioritised politics over governance, resulting in institutional weaknesses and declining public confidence.

“In the last 20-plus years, there has been very little governance going on — a lot of politics and no governance. The recent scandal where someone sets up an office in the Federal Secretariat that is not an institution of government shows there is poor governance in the system. Nothing speaks louder than that,” he added.

Duke also questioned the country’s economic management, arguing that high interest rates have made sustainable growth difficult.

“You have poor governance as a derivative of leadership, and you have an economy that is just not growing. How can you grow an economy with interest rates in the upper 30s?” he asked.

On the 2027 political landscape, the PRP presidential candidate called for greater cooperation among opposition parties, saying a fragmented opposition would struggle to offer Nigerians a viable alternative.

“Ideally, the opposition should come together. We have a splintered opposition with a common goal, but it doesn’t work that way. I want to be the voice of reason, because eventually, I think we all have to come together to decide where this country will go,” Duke said.

He added that personal ambitions among opposition leaders must give way to national interest, warning that Nigeria is currently “in a bad place” and requires collective leadership to change its course.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Donald Duke, has expressed the sense of urgency regarding the state of Nigeria, stressing the need for urgent intervention to avoid future disaster.

Duke made this remark on Tuesday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’

The former Cross River State Governor said he decided to return to politics because of the urgency of where citizens currently are in Nigeria, calling on the opposition to come together and change the direction of the country.

According to him, Nigeria’s leadership from when he was governor is not addressing the critical issues in the country.

“I returned to politics because of the urgency of where we are in Nigeria today. Disaster is looming if we don’t change the trajectory.

“You could be a spectator and make all sorts of analyses, or you could get involved. The direction the country is going requires urgent intervention.

“The folks who are in charge of the country today are generally my generation, as it were, and the president and I were the class of ’99. But the direction the country is going, I think, requires very urgent intervention.

“I’m not a member of the ruling party, as it were. So automatically, I’m in the opposition. Ideally, the opposition should come together,” he said.