Former Voice of Nigeria Director-General Osita Okechukwu says the African Democratic Congress (ADC) should have chosen a southern candidate for 2027, reviving debate over regional rotation in Nigeria’s presidential politics, Premium Times and Tribune reported.
The outlets reported that Okechukwu criticized Atiku Abubakar’s bid for the PDP nomination for the 2023 presidential election. He argued that the bid disregarded a broader rotation convention and continues to generate political tension. Okechukwu said the ADC would have made the coming contest less acrimonious by selecting a southern nominee.
The formal PDP record is narrower than the political argument. In May 2022, its National Executive Committee left its presidential ticket open after southern governors urged the party to reserve the nomination for their region. The decision did not formally assign the 2023 ticket to the South, so the claim that Atiku breached zoning describes Okechukwu’s view of a broader convention rather than a violation of a party rule recorded for that contest.
The Independent National Electoral Commission lists Atiku as the ADC’s 2027 presidential candidate, with Amaechi Chibuike Rotimi as his running mate. The candidacy brings the rotation debate to a party beyond the PDP, whose nomination decisions do not determine the ADC’s choices.
The PDP later set a separate arrangement for its own 2027 ticket. A communiqué from its 102nd National Executive Committee meeting on Aug. 25, 2025, says the party zoned its presidential nomination to the South and retained the national chairmanship in the North. That decision applies within the PDP and does not establish a matching obligation for the ADC.
Okechukwu said rotation can help manage Nigeria’s diversity and pointed to the 1999, 2007 and 2019 presidential elections as examples he believes support national balance. He warned that disputes over the convention could intensify ethnic tensions, a risk he cited in arguing for a southern candidate. Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for Jan. 16, 2027.
