“He Will Never Learn” – Onanuga Slams Atiku Over 2027 Presidential Bid

Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for wanting to run for president in 2027.

Onanuga said that Atiku is only looking out for his own interests and doesn’t care about zoning or Nigeria’s power rotation plan, which favors a southern candidate for the presidency in 2027.

The presidential media aide said that Atiku has always ignored zoning rules in his previous attempts to become president, which has caused problems for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said that Atiku’s open announcement that he wants to run for president in 2027 is going down the same path and could cause the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to have the same problems.

Onanuga, on the other hand, said that Atiku would lose the election by a wide margin, calling him a man who never learns.

“Once again, Abubakar Atiku has made a self-serving case for why he is trying to break up Nigeria’s power rotation system.” Atiku, who was a member of the PDP in 2023, tried to replace a fellow northerner who had been in office for eight years, even though the party had a set way of doing things. His ambition split the PDP, which is why he lost the election by a wide margin.

“Now, he is ready to repeat history and face another doom.” Onanuga wrote on 𝕏, “This perennial candidate is going to have another huge failure in the next election.”

Onanuga called the former Vice President’s argument “dubious political arithmetic” in light of Atiku’s interview with Arise News on Wednesday, in which he said that zoning is wrong and that the South has ruled Nigeria for 18 years and the North has only ruled for 10 years.

Onanuga said that the zoning plan needs to be followed so that President Bola Tinubu can finish his eight years before a northerner can run for president again.

In an interview with Charles Aniagolu on Wednesday, Atiku, who now sounds like the likely ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to run away), brought up his 2023 argument about the North-South power rotation again. In a very self-serving way, he said that he doesn’t have to follow the rotation formula because, in his opinion, the South has been in office longer than the North since 1999. His math skills when it comes to politics are questionable.

“He conveniently ignores the fact that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s untimely death caused President Jonathan to take over. This unintentional breach does not nullify the power rotation agreement between the North and the South. Buhari finished his eight years, so Tinubu must finish his as well. “Atiku just needs to forget about running again; it’s still the South’s turn in the 2027 election,” Onanuga said.