Yemi Obafemi
The Presidency has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of attempting to undermine Nigeria’s power rotation principle ahead of the 2027 election.
The special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a post on Thursday.
He warned that his renewed push for the presidency could destabilise the country’s long-standing zoning arrangement.
According to him, Atiku’s position on zoning was “self-serving” and driven by personal ambition.
“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement,” Onanuga stated.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, Atiku, as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ignored the party’s zoning arrangement and contested to succeed a fellow northerner after eight years in office.
“In 2023, as a member of the PDP, a party that, like others, practices zoning, Atiku disregarded the established formula and sought to succeed a fellow northerner, who had spent eight years in office. His ambition fractured the PDP, leading to his resounding defeat at the polls,” he said.
Onanuga warned that the former vice president risks repeating the same mistake ahead of the next election.
“Now, he stands poised to repeat history and face another doom. Another spectacular failure awaits this perennial candidate in the next election,” he added.
The presidential aide also referenced Atiku’s recent interview with journalist Charles Aniagolu, where he reportedly revisited his stance on the North-South power rotation.
“In his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, now sounding like the presumed ADC candidate, revisited his 2023 argument on the North-South power rotation,” Onanuga said.
“In a brazenly self-serving twist, he insisted he is not bound by the rotation formula because, according to him, the South has spent more years in office than the North since 1999. His political arithmetic is dubious.”
He argued that Atiku’s claim ignored key historical context, particularly the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the succession of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“He conveniently overlooks the fact that the North’s shorter tenure was due to the untimely death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to President Jonathan’s succession. This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South,” Onanuga stated.
Reaffirming the current administration’s position, he maintained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should complete two terms in line with the zoning principle.
“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own. All Atiku needs to do is to bury the thought of running again, as it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election,” he said.
