Atiku’s Breach of Zoning Fueling Political Tension in North – Okechukwu

Former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria and APC chieftain, Osita Okechukwu, has warned that Atiku Abubakar’s decision to contest the 2027 presidential election under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) despite zoning conventions is heightening political tension in Northern Nigeria and across the country.

In a statement, Okechukwu argued that Atiku’s move vindicates advocates of power rotation, stressing that zoning remains a vital tool for managing Nigeria’s diversity.

He cautioned Northerners against falling into ethno-identity politics, citing Sudan’s struggles with ethnic rivalry as a warning.

“The South has other presidential candidates, and truly Atiku and Tinubu are ten and ten pence going by their antecedents,” Okechukwu remarked, adding that the PDP is still reeling from Atiku’s breach of zoning in 2023.

He recalled how leaders like Abubakar Rimi, Umaru Shinkafi, Adamu Ciroma, Sola Saraki, Alex Ekwueme, and Ogbonnaya Onu sacrificed personal ambitions in 1999 to preserve national unity.

According to him, past elections in 1999, 2007, and 2019 demonstrated how rotation sustained balance and reduced acrimony.

Okechukwu also expressed concern over reports of security personnel being deployed to protect campaign posters and billboards, describing it as a misuse of resources amid rising insecurity.

He urged Atiku’s supporters and other stakeholders to avoid framing the 2027 contest as a North-South zero-sum game, warning that such rhetoric could deepen divisions and endanger Nigeria’s democracy.