Atiku: ADC elevated personal interest above national cohesion – APC chieftain, Okechukwu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Osita Okechukwu on Thursday, said the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has raised serious concerns over the unforced error of elevating personal ambition above the zoning convention.

Okechukwu said since the advent of the Fourth Republic, zoning has largely guaranteed national cohesion, patriotism, fairness, and a sense of belonging among Nigerians.

He said it amounts to political opportunism for the ADC to disregard the zoning principle at a time when virtually all major political parties like APC, PDP, LP, NDC and a majority of Nigerians subscribe to rotational presidency in the overriding national interest.

In a statement he signed, the former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, VON, said by its action, the ADC has “chosen to return Nigeria to the old and divisive North-versus-South political morass, which made Rotimi Amechi reject the offer of vice president.

He stressed that “Nigeria’s unity remains non-negotiable and that no individual’s political ambition should supersede national cohesion, as nobody can be president in a crisis-ridden country.”

Okechukwu further argued that with “Nigeria entangled in palpable insurgency, it is most patriotic and appropriate that all northern political gladiators except one are patiently waiting for 2031, the Northern turn under the existing rotational understanding.”

He expressed hope that the ADC leadership will not blame the APC and, by extension, President Tinubu when the majority of Nigerians vote against their unforced error of breaching the zoning convention, bearing in mind that their 2023 breach of the same principle significantly contributed to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s irretrievable and deep internal divisions till date.

Okechukwu maintained that history will ultimately judge the leaders of the ADC not by the intensity of their rhetoric and rationalisation but by their non-adherence to the zoning glue that contributes to national unity, institutional stability and democratic consolidation.