The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has said that the North must wait until 2031 before producing Nigeria’s next presidential candidate, insisting that the existing power rotation arrangement guarantees the South eight years in office.
Akume made the position known on Thursday in Abuja while receiving a delegation of the Miyetti Allah Fulaku Yesoyeso, led by its National President, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman.
The SGF criticised the presidential ambition of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 general election, arguing that his decision to contest contradicts the power-sharing understanding he supported in 1999.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, Akume recalled that the agreement was reached during a meeting of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors-elect in Kaduna in 1999.
According to him, the arrangement provided for the South to occupy the presidency for eight years, after which power would return to the North for another eight years.
“Under the agreement, the South was to serve for eight years before power returned to the North for another eight years. I am surprised that Atiku, who was part of the meeting and supported the arrangement, is now seeking to become president after Buhari has already served eight years,” Akume said.
He maintained that the North should not seek the presidency in 2027, stressing that its turn would come in 2031.
“This is not the time for the North. The North will come in to contest in 2031,” he stated.
Akume further argued that the power rotation arrangement had largely been observed by successive administrations, beginning with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and continuing through subsequent administrations.
He noted that Obasanjo served two terms of eight years before the late President Umaru Yar’Adua succeeded him. Following Yar’Adua’s death in office, his then vice-president, Goodluck Jonathan, assumed office and served for almost six years before Muhammadu Buhari emerged as president and completed two terms.
According to the SGF, President Bola Tinubu succeeded Buhari in 2023 and is currently serving the South’s eight-year presidential allocation, with another four years remaining under the arrangement.
Akume warned that personal political ambitions should not be allowed to create divisions or threaten national unity, urging northern politicians interested in the presidency to respect the existing understanding and wait until 2031.
“Personal ambition should not be allowed to divide the country or undermine its unity. Those seeking the presidency from the North should wait until 2031,” he added.
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