I am writing this because of certain discordant tunes recently emanating from the Interim National Chairman of ADC Senator David Mark and the Interim N’tional Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, both from the North Central geopolitical zone of Northern Nigeria. According to the recent news from the duo whoever becomes the flagbearer of ADC at the moment is a secondary issue as the coalition party is presently only concerned with having a new manifesto for the party.

I disagree on this priority attention.

The No.1 priority attention for the ADC coalition party should be how to have a new leader and presumptive flagbearer the same way as President Bola Tinubu is the APC Leader and its presumptive flagbearer.

There is this unwritten Code of power rotation between the Northern Nigeria and the Southern Nigeria citizens that power, that is, the Presidency of Nigeria shall rotate between the two regions of Nigeria.

Late Former President Muhammadu Buhari governed Nigeria for 8 years for the Northern Nigeria’s turn and it became the turn of Southern Nigeria in 2023 to produce a President for Nigeria.

APC heeded this unwritten Code by ensuring that a Southern Nigeria candidate emerged as its flagbearer in the person of President Bola Tinubu eventually emerged then.

PDP leadership contrary to the unwritten Code and instead of asserting party supremacy to respect the North-South zoning system and ensure that the wishes of the citizens are respected were bribed to work for the emergence of a Northern Candidate in the person of Alhaji Atiku Abubaka to override and scuttle the entrenched zoning system, hence the revolt by PDP G5 Governors led by Nyesom Wike.

The rest Is now history.

The question now begging for answer is: Can an over-ambition of one man override the national interest of Nigeria which dictates that power shall rotate between Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria in order to for Nigerian citizens of both North and South to have a sense of belonging?

Nobody is against Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition but he should wait for the turn of Northern Nigeria in 2031. The Southern Nigeria power rotation right should be respected by ADC to enable the Southern Nigeria to finish is turn.

PDP today is a dead party because of its failure to assert party supremacy during 2023 presidential party nomination to respect the zoning right.

ADC is therefore warned not to let what killed PDP being is refusal to respect North-South zoning right during the 2023 presidential nomination of its flagbeare to kill the new ADC coalition movement.

There is no doubt that Peter Obi has a cult following by voters throughout Nigeria.ADC’s immediate priority is to benefit from this cult following of voters and take a decisive position to zone its presidential ticket to only candidates from Southern Nigeria and assert party supremacy to ensure that the general election winning candidate, preferably Peter Obi emerges from the primary election conducted under the INEC’s GUILDELINES.

•Barr. Jezie Ekejiuba is President, Voters Rights Organisation of Nigeria (VRON).