By Joe Udo
2027 Presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar has said he’ll make the rotation of the presidency rotational if elected as president.
The former vice president disclosed this on Wednesday during an appearance on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television.
He said he supports the principle of zoning, noting that a constitutional arrangement would provide a more equitable and stable framework for power rotation.
The 2023 PDP presidential candidate said the party remains the only political party with a zoning arrangement embedded in its constitution.
Atiku also spoke on the distribution of presidential power between the north and the south, noting that the south has held the office longer.
He recalled opposing a proposal for rotational presidency by the late former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme during past constitutional debates.
“If I am president, even if it is the only amendment I can make, I would move towards that.
“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.
“The South has governed for 18 years and the North for 10, so who is in the deficit?
“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.
“Because we controlled about 60 to 70 per cent of the delegates, the amendment did not go through,” Atiku said.
He, however, regretted the decision, adding, “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.”
