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‘ABUJA, Nigeria – In a blistering, no-holds-barred attack, Babachir Lawal, National Vice Chairman (North East) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has declared former Vice President Atiku Abubakar an “opposition to the opposition” and an “incompetent near-senile octogenarian” with a toxic record of sabotaging Nigeria’s political opposition for his own ambition.

Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation under President Muhammadu Buhari, did not mince words in a statement that sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s already fractured opposition landscape. His fury centered on Atiku’s stance on zoning, which Lawal called a cynical, self-serving charade.

“As you all know, I and Atiku Abubakar are from Adamawa State,” Lawal began. “But as far as I am concerned, Atiku is an opposition to the opposition,  both in 2023 and now in 2027.”

Then came the hammer blow: “Most importantly, he is an incompetent near-senile octogenarian. His former boss, Obasanjo, confirmed that he has a very poor sense of judgment when it comes to basic economy knowledge, governance and administration. It is this very poor sense of judgment that made him keep running and running for president at the wrong timing, as if Aso Rock belongs to his father.”

‘Written Results from Their Homes’: Lawal Details Primaries Fraud

Lawal, who has been a prominent voice in the ADC, alleged that Atiku’s victory in the party’s presidential primaries was a pre-written farce, a charge that raises fresh questions about the internal democracy of Nigeria’s opposition parties.

“The ADC presidential primaries were filled up with written results in favour of Atiku. People submitted already written results from their homes. I can’t be a part of this nonsense. That is why I left Abuja to my farm in Adamawa even before the fraudulent results were announced.”

He added defiantly: “Please, someone should make it make sense.”

The Zoning Hypocrisy: ‘Biggest Beneficiary’ Now Opposes It

The most damning portion of Lawal’s diatribe focused on what he called Atiku’s breathtaking hypocrisy on zoning. According to Lawal, Atiku has spent decades as the prime beneficiary of zoning arrangements, only to discard them the moment the political pendulum swung toward the South.

“How can he say zoning presidency is not constitutional, particularly when it is the turn of the South to rule? Who doesn’t know it’s not constitutional? But when it becomes the turn of the North, he would be the first to lobby for parties to zone the ticket to the North.”

Lawal reeled off a devastating list:

1. Vice President – picked by Obasanjo because the PDP zoned the slot to the North East.
2. ACN presidential candidate (2007) – handed the ticket by Tinubu, who zoned it to the North so Atiku could contest against a fellow Northerner, the late President Yar’Adua.
3. PDP presidential candidate (2019) – emerged because the PDP zoned its ticket to the North.

“But right before you, the same Atiku zoned the position for his running mate to the southern part of Nigeria,” Lawal thundered.

He then delivered the knockout punch: “If zoning does not matter for equity, justice and ethnic fairness amongst the ethnic groups, then why is Atiku not picking a Fulani northern Muslim as his running mate, since he said ‘to-hell with zoning’ when it became the turn of the South?”

Opposition in Crisis

Lawal’s broadside exposes a deepening fracture within Nigeria’s opposition ahead of 2027. With the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) already consolidating, the ADC, PDP, and other parties appear mired in bitter infighting over zoning, trust, and leadership.

Atiku Abubakar, 77, has run for president six times and has yet to win. His camp did not immediately respond to Lawal’s allegations. But for many Nigerians weary of recycled political elites, Lawal’s words landed like a thunderclap, not just as personal animosity, but as a searing indictment of a political culture where principle bends to ambition.

As one social media user put it, quoting Lawal: “Someone please make it make sense.”