2027: Get ready to leave ADC, Presidency tells Peter Obi

…criticises Atiku over stance on Nigeria’s power rotation

The Presidency has told Peter Obi to prepare to exit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general election, as it criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his stance on Nigeria’s power rotation.

Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X on Thursday, faulted Atiku’s renewed argument against the North-South zoning arrangement, describing it as self-serving and inconsistent with established political practice. 

He noted that Atiku’s decision to contest the 2023 election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the zoning principle weakened the opposition and contributed to internal divisions within the party.

Onanuga argued that the power rotation arrangement remains valid, maintaining that the South should retain the presidency through 2027 following the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari. 

He dismissed Atiku’s claim on the imbalance in years spent in office between the North and South, attributing the disparity to the death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the subsequent succession of Goodluck Jonathan.

He warned that Atiku risks another electoral setback if he proceeds with his ambition, while also suggesting that Obi may need to reconsider his position within the ADC as political alignments shift.

The statement reads, “This Atiku will never learn. 

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“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement. 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.

“Now, he stands poised to repeat history and face another doom. Another spectacular failure awaits this perennial candidate in the next election.

“In his interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, now sounding like the presumed ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to bolt away), revisited his 2023 argument on the North-South power rotation. In a brazenly self-serving twist, he insisted he is not bound by the rotation formula because, according to him, the South has spent more years in office than the North since 1999. His political arithmetic is dubious.

“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 Jonathan’s succession. This accidental breach does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between the North and the South. Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own. 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.”