Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Enugu
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has again been advised to shelve his ambition and withdraw from the 2027 presidential race in deference to the existing convention on power rotation between north and south.
A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, made the call in Enugu, reiterating his earlier stance that Atiku has no business joining the presidential race since the presidency currently resides in the south.
Atiku, pursuant to his long-standing ambition to become Nigeria’s president, has picked the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress(ADC) to slug it out with President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Okechukwu made the appeal for Atiku to withdraw his candidacy in response to a call by the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum (SPPAF), encouraging the ADC presidential standard-bearer to strategise well to win the race.
The group reportedly urged Atiku to carefully consider his choice of vice-presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election in order to strengthen his support base in the south.
But Okechukwu, who is a former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), dismissed the call by the SPPAF, saying that Atiku should ignore such misguided encouragement “in the overall interest of the country”.
According to him, it would serve the interest of Nigeria best if Atiku bottled his ambition and support the south to complete its turn in the presidency, which would end in 2031 before power returns to north.
Okechukwu stated that it was pressure from self-serving groups such as the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum that goaded Atiku into abandoning the rotation convention, which led to the destabilisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He, therefore, appealed to the former vice-president to return to the zoning convention in order to help strengthen Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, which his ambition is hurting.
The APC chieftain wondered why Atiku, who had previously defended the utility and importance of zoning during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, would now turn round to oppose the principle.
He reminded Atiku of his pro-zoning statement at a particular time during his PDP years: “It is either President Jonathan is not a member of the PDP or is living in denial of the same principle of zoning which saw his emergence as vice-president in 2007.
“As a beneficiary of the zoning arrangement, Atiku should uphold the principle and support its continued application in the interest of national cohesion, equity, and political stability.”
However, it was pointed out to Okechukwu that at this point in time, it could be considered too late for Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, having gone far in preparation.
But he insisted that “it is never too late to make amend”, adding that Atiku “should be a statesman and instead of hauling blame barbs on President Tinubu, (should) use the few months left to forge a strong opposition”.
