The Big Tent Coalition has faulted remarks by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar questioning the relevance of zoning and rotational presidency, accusing him of attempting to rewrite Nigeria’s political history to advance personal ambition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

However, the opposition Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) has declared that competence, patriotism and national interest should take precedence over zoning in determining Nigeria’s next President.

In a statement, yesterday, by its Director of Media and Communications, Charles Odibo, the coalition, which is aligned with political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, described Atiku’s position on zoning as contradictory and self-serving.

The coalition was reacting to comments attributed to Atiku in a recent interview in which he reportedly described the insistence on retaining presidential power in Southern Nigeria in 2027 as “self-defeating” and “intellectually dishonest.”

Odibo argued that Atiku had consistently benefited from the zoning arrangement in this Fourth Republic and could not now discredit the principle because it no longer aligned with his political aspirations.

According to the statement, Atiku supported Northern presidential claims after the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and later joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2015 election when the party zoned its presidential ticket to the North.

The coalition further recalled that Atiku emerged as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 under what it described as a political understanding that power had returned to the North following the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Rejecting Atiku’s interpretation of the North-South power balance since 1999, the coalition maintained that the South would have completed 17 years in power by 2027, while the North would have held power for 11 years. It argued that the present political equilibrium requires the South to complete what it described as its full eight-year cycle before power rotates back to the North.

DLA’S position was made known by the party’s National Chairman, Samuel Memeh, during the party’s first national convention in Abuja yesterday.

Memeh noted that the party had deliberately resolved not to zone its presidential ticket to any section of the country, insisting that Nigeria’s progress depends more on credible and capable leadership than regional considerations.

“As part of our commitment to national unity and integration, the DLA has taken the deliberate decision not to zone its presidential ticket to the Southern part of Nigeria,” he stated.

According to him, the decision was not intended to diminish any region but to strengthen inclusiveness and deepen national unity.

“We believe that Nigeria can only truly progress when leadership is seen as a national responsibility rather than a regional entitlement,” he added.

The DLA chairman described Nigeria’s predicament as fundamentally a leadership crisis, noting that despite the country’s vast human and natural resources, millions of citizens continue to grapple with poverty, unemployment, insecurity, weak institutions, and economic instability.

“Credible leadership is not built on propaganda, intimidation, ethnic sentiments or empty promises; it is built on vision, competence, integrity, accountability, courage and sacrifice,” he said.