A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has dismissed the call by the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum urging former Vice President 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.
But responding to a call by the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum, Okechukwu, dismissed the group’s position and appealed to Atiku in the overall interest of the country, to allow the South to complete its turn in the presidency.
Okechukwu, who was the former Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), explained that it was “pressure from self-serving groups such as the Southern Political Progressive Amalgamation Forum that goaded His Excellency Atiku Abubakar to abandon the rotation convention, which led to our sister political party, PDP’s destabilisation.”
He pleaded with Atiku to return to the zoning convention in order to help strengthen Nigeria’s fledgling democracy. Okechukwu said that Atiku himself had previously defended the utility and importance of zoning during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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.” The APC Chieftain insisted 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.
When asked by journalists whether it was not too late for Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, Okechukwu replied: “It is never too late to make amends. He should be a statesman and instead of hurling blame barbs on President Tinubu, albeit use the few months left to forge a strong opposition.”
