2027: Forget It, It’s Still South’s Turn, Presidency Tells Atiku

The Presidency has dismissed fresh arguments by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement, insisting that the South must complete its turn ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his X handle, described Atiku’s position as self-serving and based on what he called a flawed interpretation of the North-South zoning principle.

Onanuga said Atiku, in 2023 as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disregarded the party’s zoning arrangement by seeking to succeed a fellow northerner, noting that the move contributed to the internal crisis that affected the party’s performance in the election.

He also rejected Atiku’s claim that the South had spent more years in office than the North since 1999, stating that the North’s shorter tenure was due to the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua while in office.

According to him, the succession that followed did not invalidate the power rotation arrangement, describing it as an “accidental breach” rather than a deliberate shift.

Onanuga maintained that since former President Muhammadu Buhari completed eight years in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should also complete his tenure under the existing arrangement.

He said Atiku should “bury the thought of running again,” insisting that it remains the South’s turn in the 2027 election.

Atiku had, in an interview, reiterated his position that he is not bound by the zoning formula, arguing that the distribution of power since 1999 supports his stance.

However, the Presidency insisted that the position ignores the established political understanding guiding power rotation in the country.