Atiku’s refusal to step aside fueling “one-party system” – Okechukwu
A founding member of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, says latest statement by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar that he is “not stepping aside”, fueling ‘One-Party System’.
Okechukwu, who was a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), said this on Thursday in Enugu while explaining to journalists the import of Atiku’s comments and insistance to run at all cost.
The APC chieftain noted that there was no better way to fuel ‘One-Party System’ in a state (country) than His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s embarrassing absence from the Kano grand ceremony by ADC’s leadership.
He noted that the ADC in grand ceremony welcomed Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and by extension the Kwankwasiyya movement into their fold; “at a time when my great party, the APC, is populating its fold”.
He said, “How can Atiku again bandy the serial propaganda statement that President Tinubu is fueling ‘One-Party System’ State; when he not only covertly opposed the defection of a ‘big fish’ like Kwankwaso to ADC.
“But issued the sinister statement that he is not stepping aside, when nobody asked him?”
He recalled that His Excellency Atiku displayed the same anti-democratic tendency during the PDP’s Presidential Primary Election in 2023, which inadvertently destablised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) irretrievably.
Okechukwu argued that repeated allegations of APC constructing so-call one “one-party system” are nothing but a smokescreen to cover the opposition’s deep-seated anti-democratic tendency, disunity, and lack of strategic direction.
Okechukwu said, “Let it be stated without ambiguity — we are vindicated.
“Atiku’s declaration has laid bare the real problem of a foremost opposition held hostage by personal ambition, where no one is willing to neither yield ground for the collective good, nor obey the zoning convention.
“The zoning convention is a unity ornament which guarantees that presidential power rotates from north to south and vice versa, hence inclusion, equity and fairness.”
He stressed that Atiku’s statement came at a time when Nigerians expect a credible and united opposition; where ADC’s key opposition figures are not locked in a battle of egos, thereby making meaningful coalition impossible.
The APC chieftain said, “Methinks that as an octogenarian and elder statesman, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar should help build the consensus of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso presidential ticket.
“This will make 2027 presidential election robust, credible, challenging and shining example to the globally community, instead of placing our democracy in unnecessary north-south debacle.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the strength of the APC lies not merely in incumbency, but in the inability of opposition parties to put their acts together and prioritise national interest over individual ambition.”
Okechukwu stressed that the real danger to Nigeria’s democracy is not dominance by one party, but the reckless dysfunction of those who should provide balance.