The body language of ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, drove ex-Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, out of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, a public affairs analyst, Dayo Akintobi, has said.
Akintobi said this on Wednesday during an interview on News Central Television.
Rotational presidency, he added, remains a key factor in Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Atiku is the £800 gorilla in the room and whatever his body language is, will dominate the ADC. And that was basically what drove Peter Obi.
“There are people who would have refused to support any northern candidates on principle alone because the Buhari administration did his eight years in 2023.
“Atiku knew that, and as a result, his candidacy actually lost a lot of steam, because there were people who couldn’t buy into his aspiration based on the sense of injustice that the North has done its eight years.
“Well, that feeling still resonates today, because the South has only done four years under the Tinubu administration. So by rights, or by the understanding between North and South, the South has four more years to go.
“So any northerner who is putting himself forward at this point in time takes the risk of alienating that wide swath of the Nigerian electorate who believes in that principle of rotational presidency in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.
“Somehow, Atiku has chosen to ignore the rotational principle. “The smart party now, within few hours of Obi and Kwankwaso joining the NDC, immediately announced that they have zoned their ticket to the South.
