Presidency Urges Atiku to Abandon 2027 Ambitions

The presidency has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to respect Nigeria's unwritten tradition of power rotation and to abandon his ambitions for the 2027 presidential election. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this statement in response to Atiku's recent television interview, where he expressed intentions that could disrupt Nigeria's political convention aimed at stabilizing democracy since 1999.

Onanuga recalled that during the 2023 elections, Atiku disregarded the People's Democratic Party (PDP) zoning tradition, which led to a significant defeat for the party. He criticized Atiku's determination to pursue the presidency again in 2027, arguing that it contradicts the established power rotation arrangement that has seen the South hold power longer than the North since 1999.

Onanuga described Atiku's position as dubious and politically imbalanced, referencing extraordinary circumstances surrounding the death of former President Umaru Yar'Adua and the subsequent succession by Goodluck Jonathan.