By Kolawole Ojebisi
Former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has explained why power should return to the North in 2027.
Atiku noted that reelecting a southerner as president in 2027 would not just be unfair but cast shadow over balance of power in the country.
He said this while reacting to a statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, urging northern political leaders preparing to run for the 2027 presidency to put aside their ambitions and wait until 2031 when President Tinubu would have ended his second term.
Speaking on a TVC programme on Sunday, the SGF stated, “President Tinubu as a southerner should be allowed to have a second term, meaning that those eyeing the Presidency from the North in 2027 should look beyond that year by waiting till 2031.
“If it is the will of God for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to be President of Nigeria, even at the age of 90, he can get it. But he and other northerners eyeing the office now should look beyond 2027.”
But Atiku, through a statement issued by Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, argued that there was a six-year difference in the length of time the North and South have held the presidency.
The former Vice-President said that by 2027, the South will have had 17 years of leadership. Atiku stated, “Where, then, does true equity and fairness reside? By the year 2027, the South would have enjoyed 17 years of leadership — eight years under Obasanjo, five years under Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu — while the North would have experienced only 11 years, with Yar’Adua serving three and Buhari eight. This resulted in a disparity of six years between the North and South, casting a shadow over the balance of power.
“In any case, the power to elect and vote out their government lies firmly with the Nigerian people, entrusted to them upon the government’s ability to prove itself worthy of the people’s ballot. But has the Tinubu government demonstrated that it deserves to be re-elected? The answer, alas, is as clear as the heavens themselves — God forbid.”
