The Presidency has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his views on the North-South power rotation, saying that President Bola Tinubu must serve two terms in office.
On Thursday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said on X that Atiku was making a “self-serving argument” to try to break up Nigeria’s informal zoning arrangement.
Onanuga said that Atiku had already broken the rule in 2023 when he ran for president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even though it was expected that power would move to the South after the eight-year term of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said that the move caused problems within the PDP and led to his loss in the election.
The presidential aide also disagreed with Atiku’s recent statement that zoning is only a PDP issue and not a national one. He said that the former vice president’s claim that the South has been in power longer since 1999 was false.
Onanuga said that the North’s shorter time in office was because former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died in 2010 and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over.
He said that this change did not mean that the idea of power rotation between the North and South was no longer valid.
The Presidency said that, according to the zoning convention, Tinubu should serve two terms after Buhari’s eight years in office.
Onanuga also said that Atiku should not run for president in 2027 because it is still the South’s turn.
“This Atiku will never learn.”
He conveniently forgets that the North’s shorter term was caused by the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to President Jonathan taking over.
“This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South. Since Buhari finished his eight years, Tinubu must also finish his.
Onanuga said, “All Atiku needs to do is forget about running again because it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election.”
