According to report from The Nation, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable Danjuma Suleiman, has strongly criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over a reported plan to run for president in 2027 on the condition of serving only one term.
The alleged deal involves Atiku seeking support from the Southeast in exchange for offering the vice-presidential slot to Labour Party leader Peter Obi. Suleiman, who leads the North East chapter of the Disciples of Jagaban (DOJ), condemned the strategy as self-serving and detrimental to Northern interests.
In a statement released in Abuja, Suleiman warned against using the North as a mere tool for personal political gains. He argued that Atiku’s promise of a one-term presidency followed by transferring power to the South was both deceitful and unjust. According to Suleiman, such a proposal would sideline the North once again, denying it a fair opportunity to lead the country.
Suleiman commended the Northern APC Forum for their continued support of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid, emphasizing that allowing Tinubu to serve the full eight years is the most just and strategic approach.
He criticized suggestions that the North should only lead for one term and then hand over to the South for an additional eight years, labeling such ideas as unfair and lacking political wisdom.
The APC leader also criticized Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a Northern elder statesman, for allegedly promoting a personal agenda disguised as regional advocacy. He reminded Northerners of past political dynamics, particularly how former President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southerner, governed for nearly a decade following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Suleiman stressed that President Tinubu played a significant role in returning power to the North with Muhammadu Buhari’s election, and therefore deserves to complete two full terms before power rotates back. He asserted that the North remains politically significant and should reclaim the presidency in 2031, not settle for a vice-presidential role under Atiku’s proposed arrangement.
He called on Northern elites, political stakeholders, and youth groups to reject Atiku’s plan, urging them to remain united in backing Tinubu’s administration. Suleiman concluded by saying that the North must protect its political future and avoid compromising its collective interests for the ambitions of any individual.
