Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar
Presidency has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his reported interest in contesting the 2027 presidential election, describing his position on power rotation as self-serving and politically divisive.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a strongly worded statement, said Atiku’s argument against the North-South power rotation undermines Nigeria’s long-standing political understanding designed to maintain national balance and stability.
“This Atiku will never learn,” Onanuga stated.
According to him, the former vice president had earlier ignored zoning arrangements within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 presidential election, a move he said contributed to the party’s internal crisis and eventual defeat at the polls.
“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement. 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,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide further argued that Atiku appears determined to repeat what he described as a political miscalculation ahead of the 2027 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.
Onanuga was reacting to Atiku’s recent interview with Charles Aniagolu, where the former vice president reportedly revisited his position on power rotation between the North and South.
“In his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, now sounding like the presumed ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to bolt away), revisited his 2023 argument on the North-South power rotation. 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,” Onanuga stated.
The presidential spokesman dismissed Atiku’s reasoning, noting that the shorter northern tenure since 1999 was largely due to unforeseen circumstances, particularly the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
“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 said.
He maintained that the existing political understanding requires the presidency to remain in the South after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
“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 concluded.
The statement adds to growing political debate over zoning and succession ahead of the 2027 general elections, with analysts warning that renewed disputes over power rotation could reshape alliances across major political parties.
