Chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party have urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to drop his 2027 presidential ambition.
Diran Odeyemi, PDP National Executive Committee member and Anslem Eragbe, Labour Party chieftain, say the presidency should remain in the South until 2031 for equity.
According to the Punch, the duo remarked these in an interview on Sunday, showing growing tensions over power rotation agreements in the country’s political landscape.
Eragbe said Atiku’s 2023 candidacy breached an unwritten understanding that the South should produce a president after northern leader Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years.
“Atiku should not have contested in 2023,” he said. “The presidency was meant to shift southward. This arrangement must hold until 2031.”
He suggested the former vice president should mentor younger southern candidates, use his experience and respect regional equity.
Eragbe said the 2027 presidency should not only be in the South but also micro-zoned to the South-South.
Specifically he proposed Edo and Delta states, former Mid-Western region.
“This is fair,” he said. “South-South has only had the presidency for five years under Goodluck Jonathan, far less than other regions.”
According to him, North-Central and North-West have governed for over 17 years each, South-East and South-West for six and 15 years respectively.
“Prioritising South-South in 2027 would address historical imbalances,” Eragbe said.
Odeyemi linked the PDP crisis to Atiku’s 2023 ambition.
“The party’s crisis is because of his insistence on running despite the southern zoning agreement,” he said.
He said Atiku’s withdrawal from 2027 would stabilise the PDP and allow the party to focus on cohesion.
They both agreed that President Bola Tinubu should not be above a southern successor in 2027 but clarified that if Tinubu completes his second term until 2031, power should return to the North after that.
Eragbe wants political parties to put competence above financial influence.
“2027 is a chance to correct the past,” he said. “We need leaders committed to equity, not just wealth or connections.”
This aligns with the call for Nigeria’s political institutions to institutionalise zoning so all regions feel represented in governance.
As power rotation debate heats up, these statements show the tightrope between individual ambition and regional balance in Nigeria’s democracy.
With 2027 elections approaching, the pressure on Atiku and PDP to fall in line with these expectations will mount.