Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President has put speculations about his political future to rest, saying that he will run for the nation’s top job in the next general election.
In recent weeks, there have been reports suggesting that he may opt out of the race in 2027 and support a younger candidate.
Atiku was quoted to have said at the weekend that his commitment to the evolution of a better Nigeria outweighs his quest to be president.
Ola Olateju, a professor of the Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State who represented Atiku at the defection of several top political figures to the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), in Lagos at the weekend, suggested that Atiku was not enamoured about occupying Aso Rock at all costs.
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 the respected journalist and media scholar, Tunde Olusunle, after reading the report, Atiku disowned the statement.
He spoke from his holiday home in the United Arab Emirates, (UAE). “I did not issue that statement,” he said.
“When people stand in for me at events, we preview my thoughts on the instant subject and what my contribution or intervention will be, so we are on the same page. In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distill my thoughts. Prof Olateju was not speaking for me.”
According to the elder statesman, “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.”
Continuing, Atiku noted that the coalition which he is leading under the ADC is to galvanise popular support for the liberation of Nigeria.
He said a platform that 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 that will leave doubters dumbstruck.”
Tunde Olusunle, a professor, was Special Adviser, Media, and Publicity to the former Vice President during the 2023 presidential election.
