A prominent figure within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has issued a stark warning to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stating that the party risks violating Nigeria's foundational rotational presidency principle due to the growing clout of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The Core Accusation: A Pattern of Destabilisation
Okechukwu, a founding member of the APC, directly accused Atiku Abubakar of a recurring pattern of actions that have historically weakened opposition parties. He was specifically reacting to Atiku's recent statement that Nigeria's democracy faces an existential threat from the deliberate weakening of opposition platforms by President Bola Tinubu's administration.
Okechukwu challenged the former Vice President to engage in deeper introspection, arguing that a more honest assessment would trace the current democratic instability back to the alleged breach of the rotation convention during the 2023 presidential election. He insisted that Atiku's own actions played a decisive role in creating the present political turmoil.
Historical Breach and PDP's Downfall
The APC chieftain detailed how the non-adherence to the rotation convention and Section 7 of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Constitution, which he attributes to Atiku Abubakar, significantly destabilised the former ruling party. He described Atiku as "one of the foremost culprits" of an unforced error that gravely damaged the PDP.
"Digging deeper will inform His Excellency Atiku Abubakar that the breach of the rotation convention—an elite consensus foundation of the Fourth Republic—played a decisive role in this sordid mess," Okechukwu stated. He expressed fear that the same mistake is being set up for repetition within the ADC, especially given Atiku's superior financial resources compared to other aspirants.
The Foundation of the Rotation Convention
Okechukwu provided historical context, recalling that the rotation principle was consciously formalised in 1999 as an elite consensus to promote national unity, equity, and stability through a turn-by-turn sharing of presidential power between the North and South.
He made a pointed reminder that without this very convention, Atiku Abubakar himself would not have emerged as Vice President in 1999 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He further argued that patriotic Northern leaders of the time honoured the zoning arrangement to allow a Southern candidate, Obasanjo, to run after the tumultuous Abacha era.
Atiku's Past Actions and Present Warnings
The APC leader also reminded the public of Atiku's dramatic walkout from the 2014 PDP National Convention, where he protested that it was the North's turn to produce the president and accused then-President Goodluck Jonathan of breaching the rotation convention. This action preceded his defection to the APC.
Okechukwu posed a critical question: "Whereas one admits that my great party, the APC, has its own fault lines, is it not a calamity that the same Atiku Abubakar, widely acknowledged as the mastermind of PDP’s rotation breach and its resultant destabilisation, is now allegedly setting the stage for a similar breach within the ADC?"
He concluded that Atiku's assertion about the danger of weakening opposition platforms demands more rigorous self-scrutiny. Okechukwu also dismissed the idea that Atiku could inherit former President Muhammadu Buhari's vast Northern vote bank, claiming that many in the region still strongly support the rotation principle as essential for democratic sustenance.
