The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has taken a swipe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his stance on power rotation ahead of the 2027 general election.
Onanuga insisted that President Bola Tinubu should be allowed to complete two terms in office, stressing that the presidency must remain in the South until 2031.
In a post shared on X on Thursday, the presidential aide declared that Tinubu’s tenure should mirror that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who served for eight years.
“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own,” Onanuga stated, adding that Atiku should abandon any plans to contest in 2027 as “it is still the South’s turn.”
He further accused Atiku of pushing a “self-serving argument” aimed at undermining Nigeria’s informal zoning arrangement, which rotates power between the North and South.
According to Onanuga, Atiku had previously disregarded the zoning principle during the 2023 election while contesting under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite a northern president having just completed two terms.
He argued that Atiku’s decision contributed to internal divisions within the PDP and ultimately led to his defeat at the polls.
The remarks come in response to Atiku’s recent interview on Arise TV, where the former vice president dismissed claims of a binding national agreement on zoning.
Atiku maintained that zoning is not a constitutional requirement across all political parties, noting that only the PDP formally enshrines it in its constitution, while others merely adopt the practice informally.
Despite this, he reaffirmed his support for the principle of rotational leadership, referencing debates dating back to the 2004 National Political Reforms Conference under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Atiku also argued that, since 1999, the South has held presidential power longer than the North, claiming an imbalance in the rotation arrangement.
“If we are to be fair, the South has governed for 18 years, while the North has governed for 10,” he said.
He added that a consensus candidate may be the most practical path forward in 2027, expressing willingness to support any broadly accepted aspirant, including Peter Obi.
Atiku further hinted that the 2027 race could mark his final attempt at the presidency.
However, Onanuga dismissed Atiku’s calculations as “dubious,” arguing that the shorter northern tenure was due to the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to the succession of Goodluck Jonathan.
He maintained that this “accidental breach” does not invalidate the longstanding power-sharing understanding between the North and South.
