Atiku confirms 2027 presidential run, vows to tackle poverty

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has declared his bid for the 2027 presidency, framing his ambition around rescuing Nigerians from worsening poverty.

Atiku, who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag in the 2023 polls and a major backer of the emerging African Democratic Congress (ADC) opposition coalition, made the disclosure through his 2023 campaign spokesperson, Tunde Olusunle, in an interview with ThisDay on Sunday.

“I will run in 2027. Nigeria needs to be decisively rescued from the intensive care unit it has been consigned (to). 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 and 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,” Mr Olusunle quoted Atiku as having said, after conferring with him.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of doubts about whether the former vice-president would throw his hat in the ring again.

Some of his allies had previously claimed that Atiku might be taking a step back from the election.

Recently, Ola Olateju, a professor, who represented Atiku at an ADC event in Lagos to receive defectors into the coalition, hinted that the former vice-president was no longer interested in contesting. This had generated speculations that Atiku might play a backseat role in brokering unity within the opposition rather than actively pursuing the presidency.

The former vice president lost the 2023 presidential election to President Bola Tinubu.

However, Atiku’s declaration is also expected to complicate ongoing negotiations within the ADC-led coalition, which is struggling to balance regional power demands and the ambitions of its leading members.

While the former vice president is positioning himself as the coalition’s northern candidate, former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, both of whom have declared their interest in contesting, are pushing for the presidential ticket to be zoned to the south.

Mr Obi, who contested under the Labour Party in 2023, has promised to deliver “competent, capable, and compassionate leadership” if given the mandate.

He has also reportedly indicated a willingness to serve only a four-year tenure as part of a rotational arrangement that would return power to the north thereafter.

Mr Amaechi, who lost the 2022 APC presidential primary to President Bola Tinubu, has also revived his ambition and is banking on the coalition to provide a platform for his comeback.

Atiku is expected to resist any zoning arrangement that sidelines him, a stance consistent with his long-standing presidential ambition dating back to 1993, a move that could ignite fresh tensions within the coalition over zoning and succession agreements.

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