Presidential spokesperson says Tinubu must serve second term in Nigeria
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated on Thursday that President Bola Tinubu must be allowed a second term to complete the constitutionally allowed eight years, responding to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s comment that he does not believe it is still the turn of Southern Nigeria to hold the presidency in 2027. Onanuga argued that Atiku has a history of disregarding an unwritten rotational principle that allocates the presidency between the North and South every eight years, citing Buhari’s completion of his term as precedent for Tinubu to do the same. He noted Atiku’s past actions in 2023, when as a PDP member he sought to succeed another northerner despite zoning agreements, which fractured the party and led to his electoral defeat. Onanuga wrote on X that Atiku should abandon any presidential ambition, as the South’s turn remains for 2027, and warned that Atiku’s claim that the South has held office longer ignores the accidental breach caused by Umaru Yar’Adua’s death, which led to Goodluck Jonathan’s succession. Atiku, from Adamawa State, is a leading aspirant for the African Democratic Congress and runner‑up in the 2023 election. The exchange highlights the ongoing debate over Nigeria’s informal zoning practice and its impact on upcoming electoral politics.