Nigeria’s serial presidential election contestant, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has firmly restated his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, debunking recent suggestions that he may no longer be interested in seeking the nation’s highest office.
Atiku has shown interest in Nigeria’s highest office for nearly two decades.
Reports over the weekend had quoted Prof. Ola Olateju of Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State—who represented Atiku at a political event in Lagos—as implying that Atiku’s focus was more on national development than personal political ambition. The event in question was the defection of several high-profile figures to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
According to Olateju: “Atiku Abubakar’s plan is to build a better Nigeria; it’s not about being President. It’s about establishing a government that works for Nigerians. That’s why some of us are with him—not because he must be President at all costs.”
However, speaking in a phone conversation with journalist and media scholar, Dr. Tunde Olusunle, Atiku disavowed the remarks attributed to Olateju. Speaking from his holiday residence in the United Arab Emirates, the former Vice President said:
“I did not issue that statement. Whenever someone represents me at an event, we usually review and align on my position beforehand. In this case, there was no such engagement. Prof. Olateju was not speaking on my behalf.”
Atiku reaffirmed his political ambition, declaring unequivocally: “I will run in 2027. Nigeria urgently needs to be rescued from the intensive care unit in which it currently lies. The poverty, pain, deceit, and massive corruption plaguing our nation are unacceptable. I am offering myself to lead the process of national recovery and reconstruction.”
He emphasised that the coalition he is leading under the ADC banner is aimed at mobilising broad-based support for Nigeria’s political liberation. Acknowledging that the ADC was only recently adopted as a platform, Atiku stated:
“We cannot expect immediate upsets in by-elections, but ADC is building a powerful mass movement that will surprise the world. We are determined to upstage the status quo and prove the doubters wrong.”
Olusunle was one of Atiku’s spokespersons in the last presidential election in 2023.
