Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said he will contest the 2027 presidential election, dismissing speculations that he may withdraw from the race.
He also used the opportunity to defend the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, stressing that although it could not influence the outcome of recent by-elections, it remains a formidable force capable of reshaping Nigeria’s political landscape.
Atiku’s position was made public through his long-time associate and spokesperson during the 2023 elections, Tunde Olusunle, who disclosed the remarks to Thisday Newspaper on Sunday night.
Olusunle explained that Atiku was determined to rescue Nigeria from what he described as “intensive care” under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The former Vice President, who recently resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is aligned with the ADC, a party that has attracted several heavyweight politicians in recent months.
Atiku lamented what he described as the “mega-scale thievery, loss of values, and lack of accountability” under the present government, vowing that the ADC movement would “shock the world” by mobilising Nigerians to upstage the status quo in 2027.
“I will be offering myself to lead the reclamation and reconstruction of our traumatised homeland,” Olusunle quoted him as saying after a private engagement with the former Vice President.
He further clarified that the coalition, which was adopted only a few months ago, could not have been expected to perform spectacularly in the by-elections that were just held. Nonetheless, he insisted that the ADC-led movement was a potent force with the capacity to deliver an upset in the next general election.
Atiku’s renewed declaration also comes amid reports suggesting that he might step back from the race. Over the weekend, Prof. Ola Olateju of Achievers University, Owo, who represented Atiku at a defection event in Lagos, had suggested that the former Vice President was more focused on building a better Nigeria than on becoming president “at all costs.”
However, Atiku has since distanced himself from Olateju’s remarks. From his holiday home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he reportedly clarified that the statement was not authorised.
“When people stand in for me at events, we preview my thoughts on the instant subject. In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distill my thoughts. Prof. Olateju was not speaking for me,” Atiku was quoted as saying.
“I will run in 2027. Nigeria needs to be decisively rescued from the intensive care unit it has been consigned. The degeneration in our country, the level of poverty and pain, the anguish, is unacceptable.”