The Presidency has criticised former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, over his stance on the North-South power rotation, insisting that President Bola Tinubu must complete two terms in office.

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused Atiku of advancing a “self-serving argument” aimed at disrupting Nigeria’s informal zoning arrangement.

Onanuga said Atiku had earlier ignored the principle in 2023 when he contested the presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, despite the expectation that power should shift to the South after the eight-year tenure of former late President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the move contributed to divisions within the PDP and his eventual defeat at the polls.

The presidential aide also faulted Atiku’s recent comments that zoning is an internal PDP arrangement and not binding nationally. He said the former vice president’s claim that the South has spent more years in power since 1999 was misleading.

Onanuga argued that the North’s shorter period in office was due to the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, which led to the succession of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

He maintained that this development did not invalidate the principle of power rotation between the North and South.

The Presidency insisted that having completed eight years in office, Buhari’s tenure should be followed by two terms for Tinubu, in line with the zoning convention.

Onanuga argued that the North’s shorter period in office was due to the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, which led to the succession of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

He maintained that this development did not invalidate the principle of power rotation between the North and South.

The Presidency insisted that having completed eight years in office, Buhari’s tenure should be followed by two terms for Tinubu, in line with the zoning convention.

All Atiku needs to do is to bury the thought of running again, as it is still the South’s turn in the 2027 election,” Onanuga said.