- APC chieftain Osita Okechukwu has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and assume the role of an elder statesman in the interest of Nigeria’s democracy.
- Okechukwu stated that Atiku’s decision to contest the PDP’s 2022 presidential primary against the north-south rotation principle destabilized the party, caused the G-5 governors’ rebellion, and weakened the opposition.
- The APC chieftain rejected Atiku’s claims that President Bola Tinubu is creating a one-party state, insisting the PDP’s current internal crisis was self-inflicted by ignoring its own zoning convention.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and assume the role of an elder statesman.
Eko Hot Blog reports that speaking in an interview on Monday, Okechukwu stated that Atiku’s decision to run in the 2023 presidential election in violation of the Peoples Democratic Party’s rotation and zoning policy caused severe damage to the main opposition party and Nigeria’s democratic framework.
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Okechukwu noted that Atiku’s emergence as the PDP presidential candidate in 2022, despite strong calls within the party to zone the ticket to the South following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, sparked an internal crisis that led to the G-5 governors’ rebellion and ultimately contributed to the party’s defeat in the 2023 general elections.
He urged the former Vice President to put national interest above personal ambition, stating that stepping aside from active presidential politics would help stabilize the opposition landscape and preserve the country’s multi-party system.
Okechukwu concluded that the PDP’s current internal weakness was self-inflicted by its failure to adhere to its own rotation convention in 2022, rather than external actions by the ruling party.
