A former presidential candidate, Martin Onovo, says Nigeria’s political survival and progress largely depend on strict adherence to the principle of rotational presidency.

Mr Onovo, who ran for the highest office in the country under the National Conscience Party in 2015, was reacting to the regrouping of opposition figures under the African Democratic Congress platform, aiming to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

There are speculations in some quarters that the coalition, championed by former PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and other like-minded leaders, plans to field a northern candidate to end the southern presidency in 2027.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, served two terms of four years each between 2015 and 2023, before Mr Tinubu, from the South, assumed office in 2023.

Based on the rotation principle in major political parties, the southern presidency is expected to expire in 2031, after which power will return to the North.

Reacting to the potential distortion of the arrangement due to recent developments in the political space, Mr Onovo stated that the rotation of political offices has helped preserve the delicate balance of power in Nigeria’s democracy over the years.

According to him, political actors must guard against domination and discrimination, which are capable of eroding the gains recorded so far in the country’s democratic experience.

Mr Onovo said, “We must remember that the constitution forbids discrimination and requires ‘Federal Character’. We must also remember that both APC and PDP accept the political principle of rotation. In my home state, the governorship has been held by rotation on a senatorial zone basis. It is about fairness and justice. Since the majority of Nigerians want rotation practice, even at the sub-national level, that is the right democratic standard.

“We must accept and promote the rotational principle because it is right, it is fair and just, it is the most democratic, and it will promote national unity.”

According to him, Nigeria must guard its unity jealously to avert domination and discrimination by certain sections of the country.

He recalled that the late elder statesman Balarabe Musa maintained before his transition that Nigeria could find an excellent presidential candidate in any of the 774 LGAs of Nigeria.

Mr Onovo urged northern politicians regrouping under the ADC to help maintain the long-practiced rotational principle for the sake of progress.

(NAN)