2027: Drop Presidential Ambition, Respect Zoning — Onanuga Tells Atiku

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, launched a scathing attack on former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, over his comments on Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement, urging him to abandon any plan to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Onanuga, in a strongly worded statement, accused Atiku of attempting to destabilise the long-standing North-South zoning formula, warning that such a move could further deepen political divisions in the country.

He recalled that during the 2023 general election, Atiku, as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ignored the party’s zoning principle by contesting to succeed a fellow northerner, a decision he said weakened the party and contributed to its defeat.

Describing Atiku as a “perennial candidate,” the presidential aide warned that another presidential bid in 2027 could result in what he termed a “repeat of past failure.”

Onanuga also dismissed Atiku’s recent claim that the South has held power longer than the North since 1999 as “misleading and self-serving.”

According to him, the North’s shorter period in office was not deliberate but a consequence of the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which led to the constitutional succession of Goodluck Jonathan.

He maintained that the development does not invalidate the rotational presidency arrangement.

“Having completed eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari, it is only fair and just that the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu be allowed to complete its tenure in line with the zoning understanding,” he stated.

Onanuga further urged Atiku to “bury the idea” of contesting again, insisting that the 2027 presidency remains the turn of the South under the existing political arrangement.

He warned that any attempt to disrupt the zoning principle could have far-reaching implications for national unity and political stability.