Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for wanting to run for president in 2027.
Onanuga said that Atiku is only looking out for himself and doesn’t care about zoning or Nigeria’s power rotation plan, which favors a southern candidate for the presidency in 2027.
The presidential media aide says that Atiku has always ignored zoning rules in his previous attempts to become president, which has caused problems in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He also said that Atiku’s open declaration of intent to run for president in 2027 is going down the same path and could cause the African Democratic Congress (ADC) the same problems.
Onanuga, on the other hand, said that Atiku would lose the election by a wide margin because he is a man who never learns.
“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has made a selfish argument to defend his efforts to mess up Nigeria’s power rotation plan. Atiku, a member of the PDP in 2023, ignored the established formula and tried to take over from a fellow northerner who had been in office for eight years. His desire to win broke up the PDP, which led to his big loss at the polls.
“Now he is ready to repeat history and face doom again. “This perennial candidate is in for another spectacular failure in the next election,” Onanuga wrote on 𝕏.
Onanuga called the former Vice President’s submission “dubious political arithmetic” in light of Atiku’s interview with Arise News on Wednesday. In that interview, Atiku said that zoning is wrong and that the South has ruled Nigeria for 18 years while the North has only ruled for 10 years.
Onanuga said that the zoning plan must be followed so that President Bola Tinubu can finish his eight years before a northerner can run for president again.
“In his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, who now sounds like the ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to run away), brought up his 2023 argument about the North-South power rotation again. He said he doesn’t have to follow the rotation formula because, in his opinion, the South has been in office longer than the North since 1999. His math skills when it comes to politics are questionable.
“He conveniently ignores the fact that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s untimely death led to President Jonathan’s succession, which is why the North’s term was shorter. This unintentional breach does not nullify the power rotation agreement between the North and the South. Buhari finished his eight years, so Tinubu must finish his as well. “All Atiku needs to do is forget about running again,” Onanuga said. “It’s still the South’s turn in the 2027 election.”
