Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has confirmed that he will contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Nigeria must be “decisively rescued” from its current state of decline.
His declaration came after comments credited to Prof. Ola Olateju of Achievers University, Ondo, who represented him at a political event in Lagos, suggested that Abubakar was not desperate to become president.
Olateju had told defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that Atiku’s mission was about building a better Nigeria, not personal ambition.
The remarks, however, did not sit well with the former vice-president.
In a telephone interview with Tunde Olusunle, his former media aide, Abubakar, currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), disowned Olateju’s comments.
“I did not issue that statement. 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,” Abubakar clarified.
“In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distil my thoughts. Prof Olateju was not speaking for me.
“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.”
The former vice-president also expressed confidence in the ADC coalition, where he is a member, stressing that the party would spring a surprise at the polls.
“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,” he declared.
Atiku, who will be 81 by the 2027 election, has been a recurring contender for Nigeria’s highest office.
He has vied for the presidency six times and was on the ballot as a candidate in 2007, 2019, and 2023 under the PDP.
