A Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress and media mogul, Dele Momodu, has pushed back strongly against calls for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to step aside ahead of the 2027 presidential race, describing the criticism as “unbridled chicanery.”
Momodu’s response came on Saturday following remarks by activist and Peter Obi supporter, Zekeri Idris Jnr, who argued that Atiku’s projected age of 80 by 2027 makes him unsuitable for the presidency.
In a post on X, Momodu said critics were misplacing their priorities, urging them to focus on holding the current administration accountable instead.
“Instead of making videos against the ruling government, you’re dissipating energy on a man who has never wronged your preferred candidate,” the statement read.
To bolster his argument, Momodu cited several global figures who served effectively at advanced ages, including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Muhammadu Buhari, Nelson Mandela, Nana Akufo-Addo, Hillary Clinton, and Joseph Boakai, noting that they “made good use of their age and experience for the betterment of their nations”.
“What disqualifies Alhaji Atiku Abubakar please!” Momodu rhetorically asked.
The controversy followed a viral video in which Idris, dressed in a green traditional outfit, delivered a passionate appeal urging Atiku’s allies to persuade him to step aside in favour of younger candidates.
“If he likes, let him go and bring angels from heaven as his running mate — not even Peter Obi. We won’t vote for an 80-year-old man,” Idris said in the video.
He also urged Atiku to assume a statesman role by uniting younger political figures such as Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, rather than contesting against them.
Atiku, who ran under the Peoples Democratic Party in 2023 and lost to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is now widely reported to be eyeing the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 elections.
