President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has declared that the President will serve two terms in office – totalling eight years – just like his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. Consequently, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar must abandon his presidential ambitions, Mr Onanuga said on Thursday.
Arguing that the North had already produced a president who completed eight years, the spokesman insisted that the South’s turn must be respected.
“Since Buhari completed his eight years, Tinubu too must complete his own. All Atiku needs to do is to bury the thought of running again, as it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election,” Mr Onanuga wrote on X.
The presidential spokesperson criticised Mr Abubakar as a politician seeking to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation between the North and the South for his own self-serving ambition.
“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has put forward a self-serving argument to justify his attempt to disrupt Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement. In 2023, as a member of the PDP – a party that, like others, practices zoning – Atiku disregarded the established formula and sought to succeed a fellow northerner, who had spent eight years in office. His ambition fractured the PDP, leading to his resounding defeat at the polls,” Mr Onanuga stated.
He added: “Now, he stands poised to repeat history and face another doom. Another spectacular failure awaits this perennial candidate in the next election.”
In an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, Mr Abubakar had described Mr Tinubu’s administration as the worst he had ever seen, while also criticising former President Goodluck Jonathan.
