Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should step aside and drop any plan to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Baba-Ahmed, who also previously spoke for the Northern Elders Forum, made the comments on Thursday, 22 January 2026, while speaking on Arise News Television’s programme, The Morning Show.
He said Atiku choosing not to run would be a major personal decision that could help change Nigeria’s political culture and show voters that the opposition can move away from recycling familiar figures.
“And of all those things, it has to be something that Atiku could do. One of them is not to keep insisting that he has to run. And I will give you my reasons,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed added that if Atiku steps aside, it could reshape opposition politics ahead of the next general election, because it would be a clear move that is fully within the former vice president’s control.
However, while advising Atiku to reconsider his ambition, Baba-Ahmed also described him as the most prepared aspirant within the African Democratic Congress, ADC, if the party is to pick its presidential candidate through a convention.
“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has the experience, the spread, better structures, and more loyal people, and he understands the mechanics of internal party dynamics better than the others. The ADC’s ticket is up for grabs, but it will be a very difficult task for anybody to get it other than Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
He also spoke against arguments that the party’s ticket should be reserved for any particular person, saying such a position runs against democratic principles.
“Those saying the ticket must be given to a particular individual are going against democratic processes,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed maintained that even with Atiku’s clear advantage within the ADC, the former vice president could make what he called the most meaningful contribution by deciding not to run in 2027.
“The most important thing that ADC can do, and the single most important commitment that Atiku can make to this country after all his years of labour and striving to build the democratic process in this country, is to decide not to run for president in 2027,” he said.
“You have got to do something that is so dramatically outside the box that Nigerians can sit up and say, ah, these are not just another recycled politician trying to replace Tinubu,” he added.
The comments have added fresh weight to the debate within opposition circles over whether to stick with long-standing political figures or promote new faces as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 election season.