Atiku declares intention to run for president in 2027

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially confirmed that he will contest the 2027 Nigerian presidential election.

The declaration was conveyed by Tunde Olusunle, one of Atiku’s spokespersons during the 2023 elections, in an interview with ThisDay.

According to Olusunle, Atiku’s decision stems from his resolve to “rescue Nigeria from the Intensive Care Unit”, a phrase he used to describe the current state of the nation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

This follows reports that Atiku may reconsider his presidential bid after Prof. Ola Olateju from Achievers University suggested that Atiku is more focused on improving Nigeria than on the presidency itself.

Responding, Atiku distanced himself from the comments, stating from his holiday home in the UAE that the remarks were unauthorised.

“When people stand in for me at events, we preview my thoughts on the instant subject. In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distil my thoughts. Prof. Olateju was not speaking for me,” Olateju, who represented Atiku at an event in Lagos, quoted the former Vice President as saying.

“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.”