The Presidency has insisted that President Bola Tinubu serve two terms in government, criticizing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his views on the North-South power cycle.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga accused Atiku of making a “self-serving argument” in an attempt to upend Nigeria’s unofficial zoning system in a statement published on X on Thursday.
According to Onanuga, Atiku disregarded the idea when he ran for president in 2023 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even though it was anticipated that power would move to the South following the eight-year reign of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
He claimed that the action exacerbated PDP divisions and ultimately led to his election defeat.
Atiku’s recent remarks that zoning is an internal PDP arrangement and not legally binding on a national level were also criticized by the presidential assistant. According to him, the former vice president’s assertion that the South has held power for more years since 1999 was false.
Onanuga claimed that the North’s shorter tenure was caused by the passing of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, which resulted in the appointment of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.
He insisted that the idea of power rotation between the North and South was unaffected by this development.
He insisted that the idea of power rotation between the North and South was unaffected by this development.
Following Buhari’s eight years in office, the presidency required that Tinubu serve two terms in accordance with the zoning arrangement.
Atiku should abandon any ambitions to run for president in 2027, Onanuga continued, emphasizing that it is still the South’s turn.
“This Atiku is incapable of learning.”
He deliberately ignores the reality that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s premature death, which resulted in President Jonathan’s succession, was the reason for the North’s shorter tenure.
The North and South’s power rotation agreement is unaffected by this unintentional infringement. Tinubu must finish his eight years, just like Buhari did.
“As it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election, all Atiku needs to do is bury the thought of running again,” Onanuga stated.
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