‘Since Buhari Completed 8 Years In Office, Tinubu Must Do Same’ — Presidency Slams Atiku

The Presidency has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his stance on Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement, insisting that President Bola Tinubu must be allowed to complete two terms in office following the eight-year tenure of his predecessor, late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a post shared on his verified X handle on Thursday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Atiku’s position was “self-serving” and aimed at disrupting the established North-South power rotation.

“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own,” he said.

“This Atiku will never learn,” Onanuga wrote, adding that the former presidential candidate had again “put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement.”

He recalled that during the 2023 elections, Atiku, then a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pursued the presidency despite the party’s zoning principle, which he said contributed to internal divisions.

“In 2023, as a member of the PDP… 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,” he stated.

Onanuga further claimed that Atiku risked repeating the same political miscalculation ahead of the next general 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.

Referring to Atiku’s recent TV interview, the presidential aide said the former vice president had revisited his argument against zoning, insisting he was not bound by the rotation principle.

“In his interview… Atiku… 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,” Onanuga said, describing the position as based on “dubious” political arithmetic.

He argued that Atiku failed to consider the circumstances surrounding the shortened tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, whose death led to the succession of Goodluck Jonathan.

“He conveniently overlooks the fact that the North’s shorter tenure was due to the untimely death of President Umaru Yar’Adua… This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement,” Onanuga stated.

Onanuga concluded by advising Atiku to drop any plans of contesting again, insisting that the South should retain the presidency in 2027.

“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 added.