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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has promised to pursue a constitutional amendment to enable a rotational presidency if he is elected Nigeria’s president in 2027.
“If I am president, even if it is the only amendment I can make, I would move towards that,” said Atiku.
The former vice president made this statement during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday night.
According to him, a constitutional amendment to allow a rotational presidency would provide a more equitable and stable framework for power rotation in Nigeria.
Atiku said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he once belonged to, is the only political party in the country with a zoning arrangement embedded in its constitution.
“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,” he said.
There have been discussions in Nigeria’s political landscape about the equitable distribution of power among the country’s tribes and regions. Some tribes claim to be underrepresented and marginalised. While speaking on this, Atiku said the south has held the office of Nigerian president longer than the north.
“The South has governed for 18 years and the North for 10, so who is in the deficit?” he asked.
Atiku also revealed he regretted opposing a proposal for rotational presidency by the late former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme during past constitutional debates.
“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,” Atiku recalled.
“Because we controlled about 60 to 70 percent of the delegates, the amendment did not go through.”
“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,” he added.
He wrote to the Nigerian Senate in 2024 proposing a six-year single-term rotational Presidency between the southern and northern regions of Nigeria.
Atiku urged lawmakers to consider amending the constitution to institutionalise the rotation of key executive offices, particularly the presidency, across six geopolitical zones. His request has, however, not been granted by Nigeria’s legislature
