A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Solomon Dalung, has stirred fresh controversy ahead of the 2027 general elections after claiming that a “phone call from the grave” of the late former president Muhammadu Buhari has directed Nigerians to vote for former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
Dalung, a former minister of youth and sports, made the dramatic assertion on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also insisted that President Bola Tinubu stands no chance of defeating Atiku in the next presidential contest.
Dalung stated that Tinubu would lose the 2027 election to Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate, regardless of the circumstances. He further claimed that even if the President were to seize the ADC secretariat and halt the party’s campaign activities, the outcome would remain unchanged.
The former minister anchored his confidence on two claims: that Atiku possesses the only true national political structure in Nigeria, inherited from the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and that the 12 million votes traditionally associated with Buhari have now been transferred to the former vice president.
Dalung pointed to recent visits by former first lady Aisha Buhari to Atiku’s Abuja residence as evidence of this transfer, alleging that she informed Atiku directly that Buhari’s voter base had been handed over to him. He then escalated the rhetoric by declaring, “We have had a phone call from the grave of Buhari that we should vote Atiku.”
Atiku Abubakar is the ADC’s presidential candidate for 2027, having won the party’s primary and received ratification from its National Executive Committee. Dalung’s remarks, however, are likely to intensify the already heated political atmosphere as opposition parties position themselves for the next election cycle.