2027: Atiku gives condition to drop presidential ambition

 Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that he would step down from the 2027 presidential race if his political party, African Democratic Congress (ADC), can produce a younger, vibrant and acceptable candidate for the election.

Atiku who made the promise in an interview with the BBC Hausa service on Wednesday on the occasion of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebrations, said his intention to run in the 2027 presidential race should not stop anyone, especially the youths, from running.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, stated that he had been encouraging Nigerian youths to join the race to rescue Nigeria, while assuring that he would give his maximum support to them as well as guide them on ways that could result in success.

Atiku who also denied claims that he is desperate to become Nigeria’s president, stressed that he was only interested in rescuing Nigeria from the people that have held the country hostage.

“If the ADC can present a young, vibrant and acceptable candidate for the 2027 election, I am willing to step down for such an individual,” Atiku said.

Continuing, the veteran presidential candidate said:

“Besides, that is one of the reasons we set up ADC, which i am a member. We couldn’t achieve that with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) because the APC government in power has decided to use some leaders of the party to frustrate the efforts of having a strong opposition that could challenge the government.

“As the day went by, the crises in PDP were growing, and the hope to resolve it was speedily vanishing because some senior members of the party were allegedly being used by the government to further destabilize the party, and we could see that in their actions and utterances.

“I could have taken some firm decisions to fix the party if I was the Chairman or Secretary of the party, or someone that listens to me was the Chairman or secretary. Sadly, the people occupying that positions have different interests that are mostly personal to them.

“Regarding the ADC, our goal is to establish the structures of the party at the state levels. We have already established the national leadership of the party, and they are working on ensuring the state and local government structures are strengthened and ready for 2027 elections,” he stated.