By Peter Omopo
The Presidency has cautioned former Vice President against pursuing another presidential bid in 2027, warning that such a move would undermine Nigeria’s longstanding power rotation arrangement.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, in a statement posted on his verified X account, said any attempt by Atiku to re-enter the race would contradict what he described as an unwritten North–South zoning agreement that has helped maintain political stability since 1999.
His reaction followed Atiku’s recent television interview on Wednesday, where the former vice president confirmed he would contest the presidency “for the last time” in the next general election.
Onanuga dismissed the declaration, insisting that it threatens the country’s political balance and disregards the principle of rotational leadership between the North and the South.
“This Atiku will never learn,” the presidential aide wrote, accusing the opposition leader of attempting to disrupt the arrangement.
He also recalled that Atiku’s 2023 presidential bid under the Peoples Democratic Party contributed to internal divisions within the party after calls for zoning the ticket to the South.
According to him, those disagreements weakened the PDP and played a role in its defeat at the polls.
Onanuga further argued that Atiku’s claim that zoning should no longer apply, based on alleged longer years of southern leadership since 1999, amounted to what he called “dubious political arithmetic.”
He noted that shifts in leadership, including the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the subsequent rise of former President Goodluck Jonathan, were exceptional circumstances that do not invalidate the broader zoning understanding.
The Presidency maintained that with former President Muhammadu Buhari having completed two terms, it is only appropriate for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to also complete a full tenure.
He further warned Atiku to abandon any thoughts of a 2027 presidential contest, saying such an attempt would end in “spectacular failure.”
