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

A senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, said on Thursday that Atiku Abubakar’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) raises serious concerns about the prioritisation of personal ambition over the zoning convention.

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

He described the ADC’s disregard for the zoning principle as political opportunism, particularly at a time when virtually all major political parties—including the APC, PDP, LP, NDC—and most Nigerians support a rotational presidency in the national interest.

In a statement he signed, the former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) said that 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, noting that the 2023 breach of the same principle significantly contributed to the Peoples Democratic Party’s irretrievable and deep internal divisions to 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.