A public affairs analyst, Dayo Akintobi, says the body language of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar drove ex-Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, away from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Akintobi stated this on Wednesday during an interview on News Central Television.
He added that rotational presidency remains a key factor in Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Atiku is the £800 gorilla in the room and whatever his body language is, is what will prevail in the ADC. And that was essentially what drove Peter Obi.
“There are people who simply on principle, because the Buhari administration did its eight years in 2023 would have refused to support any northern candidates.
“Atiku was aware of that, and as a result, his candidacy actually lost a lot of steam, because there were people who couldn’t buy into his aspiration based on the sense of injustice that the North has done its eight years.
“Well, that sentiment still resonates today, because the South has only done four years under the Tinubu administration. So by rights or by the understanding between North and South, the South has another four years to go.
“So any northerner who is putting himself forward at this point in time takes the risk of alienating that wide swath of the Nigerian electorate who believes in that principle of rotational presidency in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.
“For some reason, Atiku has chosen to turn a deaf ear to that rotational principle. Now the smart party, within a few hours of Obi and Kwankwaso joining the NDC, immediately announced that they’ve zoned their ticket to the South,” he said.
