As it was in the beginning, so it is again. The no-vacancy politics popularized by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the height of its political infamy has resurfaced, this time as the pompous proclamation of today’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). And since Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator George Akume, made the statement this week, directly attacking Norther leaders over their insistence on a Northern replacement for Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, the political atmosphere has been charged by arrows from the bows of opposition leaders led by Atiku Abubakar....TAP TO READ THE FULL CONTENT | TAP TO READ THE FULL CONTENT
AKUME’S BOAST
Senator Akume had advised Atiku and other northern politicians angling for the presidency to exercise patience until 2031, arguing that it’s not yet the North’s turn for the presidency in 2027.
Speaking on TVC’s Sunday Politics programme hosted by Femi Akande, Akume called on Norther leaders interested in the presidency to give President Tinubu, a southerner, the chance to complete the constitutionally allowed eight-year tenure.
“President Tinubu should be allowed to serve a second term. Those from the North, including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, should look beyond 2027 and consider 2031,” he said.
He added: “If it is God’s will for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to become President, even at the age of 90, it will happen. But for now, they should let President Tinubu continue his work of repositioning the nation.”
But Atiku who has been gunning for the position for many years, promptly fired back, saying the power to decide who would occupy the office rests ultimately with the Nigerian people.
Atiku’s reaction which came through his Special Adviser (Media), Paul Ibe, in a post on X, on Monday, pointed out that the South will have enjoyed 17 years of leadership— eight years under Olusegun Obasanjo, five years under Goodluck Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu—while the North will have had only 11 years, with Umaru Yar’Adua serving three years and Muhammadu Buhari serving eight years. This, Ibe argued, creates a six-year disparity between the North and South, affecting the balance of power.
He stated: “Where, then, does true equity and fairness reside? By the year 2027, the South would have enjoyed 17 years of leadership — eight years under Obasanjo, five years under Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu — while the North would have experienced only 11 years, with Yar’Adua serving three and Buhari eight.
“This results in a disparity of six years between the North and South, casting a shadow over the balance of power.
“In any case, the power to elect and vote out their government lies firmly with the Nigerian people, entrusted to them upon the government’s ability to prove itself worthy of the people’s ballot.
“But has the Tinubu government demonstrated that it deserves to be re-elected? The answer, alas, is as clear as the heavens themselves — God forbid.”
ACF INTERVENES
Similarly, the Arewa Consultative Forum and others took the Presidency to task over the statement. The ACF advised the Presidency to focus for now on delivering good governance to Nigerians.
The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, noted that it was too early to start debating the 2027 Presidency.
Mohammad-Baba said the ACF won’t take a partisan stance on who should be voted for or against, noting that its primary concern was the wellbeing of the electorate.
“So far, we have not issued any stand one way or the other on the issue. We thought concentration should be on good governance and delivery of services to the electorate,” he said, arguing that statements on the 2027 Presidency was a distraction from the more pressing issues facing the country.
“Our position is that it’s too early to debate the 2027 Presidency. We think the focus should be on good governance and the delivery of good dividends of democracy to the people.
“This talk of 2027 is too early, and it’s a distraction to the dialogue that should be taking place. Is democracy paying off for the people? Should the government do something for the people? This is what should preoccupy the minds of Nigerians, not the 2027 Presidency,” he said.
Also, the PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, had earlier boasted that the PDP would trounce the APC in 2027, the same way the National Democratic Congress ousted the ruling party in Ghana’s presidential election on Saturday, last week.
Ologunagba, in a statement on Monday, described Ghana’s opposition NDC victory as a clear example of the people’s power prevailing over misrule and oppressive government policies.
He said: “The Peoples Democratic Party congratulates the people of Ghana for their resilience in defending democracy and ensuring that their will prevailed in the Saturday, December 7, 2024, presidential election, which returned the National Democratic Congress and President John Mahama to power.
“The victory of democracy on the platform of the opposition NDC is a clear demonstration of the triumph of the power of the people over misrule and oppressive policies of government as now being witnessed in Nigeria under the corrupt, rudderless and insensitive All Progressives Congress.
“The verdict of the people of Ghana in this presidential election is a signal to the APC that its days in office are numbered as the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, will surely prevail, end APC’s oppressive rule and return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”
It continued: “It is intolerable that the APC has in the last nine and half years wrecked our collective patrimony, opened our country to terrorists, resulting in the killing of over 65,000 Nigerians; destroyed the creative abilities of our youths; plunged our naira from about N197 under the PDP to nearly N2,000 to the dollar with over 34 per cent inflation rate and crippled our productive sectors leading to over 40 per cent unemployment rate.
“It mortgaged the future of our country through reckless
