BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
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Osita Okechukwu, a foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to the Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Abubakar Atiku to allow the Southern Nigeria to complete its turn.
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Okechukwu made the appeal while responding to a call by the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum urging Atiku Abubakar to carefully consider his choice of vice-presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election in order to strengthen his support base in the South.
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The former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) dismissed the group’s position and appealed to Atiku to, in the overall interest of the country, allow the South to complete its turn in the presidency.
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Okechukwu noted that, “It was pressure from self-serving groups such as the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum that goaded His Excellency Atiku Abubakar abandon the rotation convention; which led to our sister political party, PDP’s destabilisation.”
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He appealed to the former Vice President to return to the zoning convention in order to help strengthen Nigeria’s fledgling democracy.
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According to Okechukwu, Atiku himself had previously defended the utility and importance of zoning during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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He recalled Atiku’s statement at the time:
“It is either President Jonathan is not a member of the PDP or is living in denial of the same principle of zoning which saw his emergence as Vice President in 2007.”
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Okechukwu maintained that, as a beneficiary of the zoning arrangement, Atiku should uphold the principle and support its continued application in the interest of national cohesion, equity, and political stability.
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When asked by journalists whether it was not too late for Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, Okechukwu replied that “it is never too late to make amend, he should be a statesman and instead of hauling blame barbs on President Tinubu, albeit use the few months left to forge a strong opposition.”
