Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s comments about the North-South power rotation ahead of the 2027 election.
He stated President Bola Tinubu must serve two terms and that the South should maintain the presidency until 2031.
“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own,” Onanuga wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
He added, “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.”
The presidential adviser accused Atiku of using a “self-serving argument” to excuse what he called an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s informal zoning setup.
“This Atiku will never learn. Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement,” he said.
Onanuga further stated, “In 2023, as a member of the PDP—a party that, like others, practices zoning—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 added.
The presidential aide’s reaction came after Atiku’s Prime Time interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, where he addressed the zoning debate in response to questions about his potential 2027 presidential bid.
During the interview, Atiku rejected claims of a binding national agreement on power rotation.
“No, I think this is an error and a mistake to say that there is an agreement on the issue of zoning in Nigeria.
“Let me tell you, the only political party that has a zoning provision in its constitution is the PDP. All the rest don’t have it.
“So if anything, all the other political parties are borrowing or learning from PDP’s zoning formula,” he said.
However, Atiku stated that he supports the notion of rotation.
“I agree with the principle. In fact, I will even go further. Let me tell you what happened. In 2004 during the National Political Reforms Conference under President Obasanjo, there was an argument between the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who proposed rotational presidency,” he said.
On the balance of power since 1999, Atiku said that the South has held office longer than the North.
“But if we are talking about the zoning formula in the PDP, the South has governed for 18 years and the North has governed for 10. So who is in a deficit if you want to be fair?” he said.
He also noted that he would support a consensus candidate for the 2027 election.
“The most practical option is to have a consensus,” Atiku said, adding that he would back whoever emerges, even if it is Peter Obi or any other aspirant.
Atiku also indicated that the 2027 election would likely be his final attempt at the presidency.
In reaction, Onanuga described Atiku’s position as “dubious.”
“His political arithmetic is dubious,” he said.
“He conveniently overlooks the fact that the North’s shorter tenure was due to the untimely death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to President Goodluck Jonathan’s succession.
“This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South,” he added.
