The Presidency on Thursday asked former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to abandon any plan to contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that it remains the South’s turn under Nigeria’s established power rotation arrangement.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the call in a post on his verified X handle, where he criticised Atiku’s renewed presidential ambition as a “self-serving” move that disregards the North-South zoning principle.

Onanuga said Atiku’s position, as expressed during a recent television interview, undermines a political convention that has helped stabilise Nigeria’s democracy since 1999.

Atiku, one of the leading contenders for the presidential ticket of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), while speaking during the television interview on Wednesday, said he would be contesting for the office of the President for the last time in 2027.

“This Atiku will never learn,” the presidential spokesman wrote, accusing the former vice president of attempting to “disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement.”

He recalled that during the 2023 election cycle, Atiku, then a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ignored the party’s zoning tradition by contesting to succeed a fellow northerner who had completed two terms in office.

According to him, that decision contributed to internal divisions within the PDP and ultimately led to Atiku’s defeat at the polls.

“His ambition fractured the PDP, leading to his resounding defeat at the polls,” Onanuga said, adding that the former vice president appears set to “repeat history” in 2027.

The presidential aide further faulted Atiku’s argument that he is not bound by zoning because, in his view, the South has held power longer than the North since 1999.

Describing the claim as “dubious political arithmetic,” Onanuga argued that the imbalance cited by Atiku resulted from extraordinary circumstances, particularly the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua in office, which led to the succession of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

He maintained that such an occurrence does not invalidate the informal but widely observed power-sharing arrangement between the two regions.

Onanuga stressed that following the completion of eight years in office by former President Muhammadu Buhari, it is only equitable for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a southerner, to complete his own tenure.

“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own,” he said.

The presidential spokesman concluded by urging Atiku to “bury the thought of running again,” warning that another attempt at the presidency would end in “spectacular failure.”

Atiku, who has contested the presidency multiple times, recently indicated his intention to make another bid for Nigeria’s top office, sparking fresh debate over zoning and the future of power rotation ahead of the 2027 general elections. (The Nation)