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By Lawrence Agbo
The Presidency and the camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have entered a fresh political confrontation over President Bola Tinubu’s second-term ambition, following remarks that Tinubu must complete eight years in office before power returns to the North.
The dispute began after presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga argued that, under Nigeria’s informal North-South power rotation principle, the South should retain the presidency until 2031 since Tinubu succeeded a northern president who served two terms.
The comment drew a sharp rebuttal from Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, who described the argument as unconstitutional and anti-democratic.
Shaibu insisted that power rotation is merely a political convention and not a constitutional mandate that can be used to shut out credible opposition candidates from contesting in 2027.
“Power rotation is a political convention, not a constitutional decree — and certainly not a tool to silence credible opposition,” he wrote.
He accused the Presidency of hypocrisy, claiming those now defending zoning had ignored the same principle when it did not favour their political interests.
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“The same people who shredded zoning within their own party when it suited them now pretend to be its custodians. Hypocrisy has never worn such a cheap costume,” Shaibu said.
Shaibu also rejected claims that zoning was responsible for Atiku’s 2023 defeat, arguing instead that the election outcome was shaped by institutional interference and electoral irregularities.
“The 2023 election was not lost because of zoning. It was lost through a toxic cocktail of state-backed interference, institutional compromise, and electoral irregularities that Nigerians have not forgotten,” he wrote.
On Tinubu’s second-term bid, Shaibu said no president is entitled to an automatic eight-year tenure, stressing that leaders are elected and can be voted out based on performance.
“The notion that Tinubu ‘must complete eight years’ is the most anti-democratic statement anyone can make in a constitutional republic. Presidents are not crowned for eight years — they are elected, and they can be voted out. That is the essence of democracy your camp seems to have conveniently forgotten.”
He maintained that Nigeria’s democracy must remain open and competitive, warning against narratives that suggest the presidency belongs to any region by entitlement.
