A chieftain and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has criticised former Vice President and 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, describing him as an “anti-democrat.”
Okechukwu’s comment followed Atiku’s recent statement during a BBC Hausa Service interview, where the former vice president said he would support and mentor a younger candidate if such a person emerged through a competitive primary ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Reacting in a statement on Friday, Okechukwu said Atiku’s position undermines Nigeria’s long-standing zoning and rotation convention, a political understanding that has helped preserve national balance and unity since the return to democracy in 1999.
“By placing so-called competitive primaries above Nigeria’s cherished zoning and rotation arrangement, the delicate unity glue that has sustained the Fourth Republic, Atiku Abubakar demonstrates a deep disregard for one of the foundational principles of our democracy,” Okechukwu said.
He recalled that Atiku himself had benefitted from the zoning formula in the past but later led efforts to jettison it, citing his 2014 presidential run where no southern aspirant participated in the PDP primary.
Okechukwu further described Atiku’s idea of a “competitive primary” as a euphemism for “dollarised contests,” which, according to him, privilege money over merit and exclude large sections of the country from leadership opportunities.
“Among the key pillars of democracy are national unity and credible elections. Atiku is now promoting monetised and exclusionary primaries as democracy, while downplaying the convention that guarantees fairness, equity, and inclusion in our diverse federation,” he added.
He concluded that Atiku’s comments reveal a personal ambition that prioritises power over principle.
“His pronouncement confirms fears that he seeks power not to strengthen democratic institutions, but to dismantle the very structures that have kept the Nigerian project together,” Okechukwu stated.
