Ogun PDP chieftain defends dumping Atiku, insists on southern presidency

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi, has defended his decision to part ways with his former principal, ex–Vice President and PDP presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, Atiku Abubakar, insisting he has an inalienable right to his political choices at any time.

Showunmi also defended his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, despite being in the opposition, saying the engagement fell within his constitutional rights to association and political participation.

It will be recalled that Showunmi previously served as Atiku’s spokesperson during the 2019 presidential election before exiting the role after the poll, which was won by the late President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

The PDP chieftain, who recently declared his intention to contest the Ogun State governorship seat, said his position that power should remain in the South beyond 2027 is aimed at ensuring cohesion, peace, and stability in Nigeria’s power rotation arrangement.

He argued that if the North, under the late Buhari, completed eight years in office, it was only fair for the South to retain power for another four years before it returns to the North.

Showunmi stated this in a Sunday release while responding to Kio Amachree, President of Worldview International, Stockholm, Sweden, whom he accused of making unsubstantiated allegations, warning that he may be compelled to initiate legal action.

He described Amachree’s open letter as containing sweeping claims and threats without evidence, adding that it lacked factual basis and intellectual depth.

Showunmi said, “Your attempt to police my engagements is equally misplaced. My visit to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, is entirely my prerogative. It falls squarely within my constitutional rights to association and political participation. It is neither your concern nor subject to your approval, and any attempt to frame it as improper is baseless and unsustainable.

“On my political choices, I make no apologies. I supported Atiku Abubakar under the Peoples Democratic Party because I believed in that candidacy at the time. That support does not bind me in perpetuity. Politics in a democracy is dynamic, not doctrinal.

“I subscribe to the principle of power equilibrium between North and South — eight years apiece — not as sentiment, but as a stabilising mechanism for governance continuity in a fragile federation. If circumstances require a different direction, so be it. That is political judgment.”

He added that Amachree’s location abroad did not exempt him from scrutiny, noting that geography does not confer authority or validate unproven claims.

Showunmi further dismissed insinuations linking him or his engagements to any wrongdoing, describing them as speculative and unsupported by evidence.

“Publication of an allegation is not proof. You are hereby put on notice that the repetition of unsubstantiated claims, particularly those imputing misconduct, may attract legal consequences,” he said.

He also cautioned that continued publication of unverified allegations would be treated as actionable.

Showunmi maintained that political legacy does not justify unfounded claims, stressing that while respect is due to family history, it does not substitute for evidence or intellectual rigour.

He added that political engagement and contributions on the ground outweigh distant commentary, insisting that influence is earned through action, not rhetoric.