Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said he remains in the race, contrary to recent reports that he may opt out of the 2027 presidential contest.
Atiku’s position was made public through his long-time associate and spokesperson during the 2023 elections, Tunde Olusunle, during an interview with Thisday on Sunday night.
Atiku’s recent declaration follows reports that he may reconsider his presidential bid after Prof. Ola Olateju from Achievers University suggested that Atiku is more focused on improving Nigeria than on the presidency itself.
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 Atiku must be President at all costs.”
However, in a telephone conversation with Professor Tunde Olusunle, a Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 presidential election, Atiku distanced himself from Olateju’s comments, stating from his holiday home in the UAE that the remarks were unauthorised.
Olusunle, a media scholar, said after reading the report at his holiday home in the United Arab Emirates, (UAE), the former Vice President said the statement to the effect that he may pull out of the race didn’t emanate from him.
“ In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distill my thoughts; Prof Olateju was not speaking for me.
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“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.
“The accompanying deceit, the loss of values, the mega-scale, unimpeded thievery, the absolute lack of accountability, must disturb every concerned patriot; I will be offering myself to lead the reclamation and reconstruction of our traumatised homeland.”
Atiku declared the the ADC coalition he is working on will galvanise popular support for the liberation of Nigeria and victory in 2027.
Dismissing insinuations that ADC’s weak performance in recent bye-elections is a true reflection of its capacity, he said a platform which was adopted just a few months ago cannot be expected to engender upsets in by-elections.
“ADC is leading a potent mass movement which will shock the world; we will upstage the status quo in a way which will leave doubters dumbstruck,” Atiku said.