Onanuga said Atiku’s ‘political arithmetic’ was self-serving

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, said that Atiku Abubakar’s political mathematics regarding the rotation of power was “self-serving”.

On Wednesday, while appearing on AriseTV, Atiku spoke about the distribution of presidential powers between the north and south since 1999, and noted that the south has held the office longer than the south.

The former vice president, who also stated that the 2027 general election would be his last chance to become president, said “the south has ruled for 18 years and the north for 10 years, so who has the deficit?”

Responding via X on Thursday, Onanuga criticized Atiku for saying he was not bound by zoning arrangements.

According to him, “Atiku, who now sounds like an ADC candidate (Peter Obi, get ready to run away), revisits his arguments in 2023 about North-South power rotation. In his most self-serving manner, he insists that he is not bound by the rotation formula because, according to him, South Korea has spent more years in office than North Korea since 1999. His political arithmetic is dubious.”

Onanuga said Atiku ignored the circumstances surrounding the tenure of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, whose death in 2010 led to Goodluck Jonathan’s accession to the throne.

READ ALSO: 2017: Tinubu’s Aide, Bwala, Mocks His Former Boss, Atiku

“Once again, Abubakar Atiku advanced a self-serving argument to justify his efforts to disrupt Nigeria’s rotational power arrangements,” Onanuga wrote.

“In 2023, as a member of the PDP—a party that, like others, implements zoning—Atiku is ignoring the existing formula and seeking to replace his colleague from the north, who has been in office for eight years.

“His ambition was to break the PDP, leading to a crushing defeat in the elections.

“Now, he is ready to repeat history and face another catastrophe.

“Another spectacular failure awaits this eternal candidate in the next election.

“He conveniently ignored the fact that North Korea’s shorter tenure was caused by the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, which led to the succession of President Jonathan.

“This unintentional violation does not invalidate the power rotation arrangement between North and South.

“Since Buhari has completed his eight-year term, Tinubu should also complete his term.”