A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has strongly criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his recent remarks describing zoning as "self-defeating." Okechukwu insisted that the former presidential candidate was denying the very political arrangement that facilitated his rise to national prominence.
Okechukwu's reaction to Atiku's comments
Reacting to comments attributed to Atiku, Okechukwu described the position as "a classic case of self-denial." He argued that zoning remains crucial for national cohesion, inclusion, equity, and justice in Nigeria's political system. "How can one of the foremost beneficiaries of the zoning convention suddenly deny its profound significance in promoting national cohesion, inclusion, equity, peace and justice?" Okechukwu questioned.
According to him, both legal provisions and political conventions have historically shaped governance and power-sharing in the country. "In the public domain, there is throughout history the law with its legal teeth and the convention with its moral weight governing human affairs. If there was no zoning arrangement, could Atiku have become Vice President?" he asked.
Historical context and 2015 election
Okechukwu also recalled the political events leading to the 2015 general election, noting that Atiku left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after former President Goodluck Jonathan emerged as the party's presidential candidate. "Has he forgotten why he stormed out of the PDP presidential primary process in 2014 and joined us in APC after President Goodluck Jonathan emerged as the party's candidate?" he added.
Atiku's 2027 calculations dismissed
The APC stalwart further criticized Atiku's argument questioning the chances of a Southern opposition candidate defeating a sitting Southern president in 2027. Atiku had reportedly asked: "How does a Southern opposition candidate realistically unseat a sitting Southern president?" But Okechukwu described the statement as divisive identity politics, insisting that zoning was designed to reduce such sectional considerations in national politics. He said such rhetoric was unexpected from a statesman of Atiku's stature.
On Atiku's claim that the South would have occupied the presidency for about 18 years by 2027 compared to roughly 10 years for the North since the return to democracy in 1999, Okechukwu accused the former Vice President of ignoring historical realities. According to him, Northern Nigeria had controlled political power at the centre for over four decades since independence in 1960, stressing that equity should not be assessed through "selective arithmetic." "And equity cannot be discussed in fragments or based on convenient arithmetic," he argued.
Missed opportunities
Okechukwu also dismissed Atiku's recent political calculations ahead of the 2027 election, saying the former Vice President failed to maximise the opportunity handed to him during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He maintained that Atiku's call for "realism" in opposition politics was inconsequential given what he described as missed opportunities during his years in power. "It is therefore inconsequential in his case to state that defeating an incumbent president requires realism, not romanticism; strategy, not sentiment; honesty, not selective memory," Okechukwu said.
