2027 election will be my last attempt at the presidency, says Atiku

Says if elected, he’ll make rotational presidency a constitutional provision

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says the 2027 presidential election will be his last attempt at the presidency

Atiku, who has been contesting for presidency since 1992, disclosed this during an appearance on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television on Wednesday.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain will be 80 years by the time the next presidential election comes around in 2027.

“The 2027 election will be my last outing”, he said.

Asked why should Nigerians take the risk of choosing him after so many previous attempts, considering his age, the ex-Vice President said Nigeria has leadership problem, adding that his experience as a former Vice President and military governor of a state set him apart from President Tinubu.

 “There is a clear and stark difference, take the cases if state governors in a number of state being headed by relatively young people and failing woefully simply because at the apex, they do not have capable and experienced president to guide them and to give them the benefit of his experience. That’s why we have been having a number of woeful leadership in a number if state because they are being headed by inexperienced young men,” he said.

According to Atiku, Nigeria had inexperienced leadership in presidency during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Atiku said Jonathan’s inexperience contributed to the problems Nigeria faced under his administration.

The former VP, however, recommended leadership training for young Nigerians, adding that the country needs it.

Atiku also said he will pursue a constitutional amendment to establish rotational presidency if elected president in 2027.

He said he supports the principle of zoning, noting that a constitutional arrangement would provide a more equitable and stable framework for power rotation.

“If I am president, even if it is the only amendment I can make, I would move towards that,” he said.

The former vice-president said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains the only political party with zoning arrangement embedded in its constitution.

 “The only political party that has zoning in its constitution is the PDP. The rest do not have it. If anything, all the other political parties are borrowing or learning from the PDP,” he said.

He also spoke on the distribution of presidential power between the north and the south, noting that the south has held the office longer.

“The south has governed for 18 years and the north for 10, so who is in the deficit?” he asked.

He recalled opposing a proposal for rotational presidency by the late former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme during past constitutional debates.

“There was an argument between the late Alex Ekwueme and myself. He proposed a provision in the constitution for rotational presidency, and I opposed it,” Abubakar recalled.

“Because we controlled about 60 to 70 percent of the delegates, the amendment did not go through.”

Atiku, however, said he later regretted the decision.

“In hindsight, when I attended his funeral, I admitted that I made a mistake. I should have supported that amendment, and the presidency would have rotated to all regions of the country,” he said.

He added that constitutional rotational presidency remains the most equitable approach to power-sharing in Nigeria.