Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that he commands more votes in the north than the other political figures in the region.

Atiku made the claim during an interview with Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Wednesday.

He stated that none of the following: Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto and serving senator, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ex-governor of Kano and former defence minister, and Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna and former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), measures up to him in terms of electoral strength in the north.

“Can you tell me, among the current leaders in the north, who has more votes than I have?

“I mean, you are talking about figures like Tambuwal, you are talking about figures like Kwankwaso, and others, and el-Rufai, and also the emerging political figures.

“None of them has got that northern bloc vote as much as I have got,” Atiku said.

While acknowledging Kwankwaso’s influence in Kano, Atiku added that the voting base in the state is now divided.

“Well, the absence of it may affect, but even in his own case, you can see how Kano is now split between himself and his former governor.

“So there is even a split in that,” Atiku noted. (The Sun)