A four-time presidential candidate and former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has denied ever promising to step down for younger presidential aspirants in his new political party, the ADC.
In a swift press release by the Media Adviser to the 78-year old presidential hopeful, Paul Ibe, the media reports of Atiku’s comment on a BBC Hausa service interview insinuating that he will step down for and support younger aspirants in ADC to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election are false.
“It has become necessary to clarify certain misrepresentations arising from the reportage of an interview granted by His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, to the BBC Hausa Service by some sections of the media”, Paul Ibe wrote.
“After a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview – in the original Hausa and the English translation – it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone.
“What Atiku Abubakar clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation.
“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged.
“For the records, therefore, the insinuations attributed to the Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not reflect what he actually said”, the statement concluded.
As the commencement of the 2027 electoral cycle nears, there are growing tension within the ranks of the opposition coalition on who would be the presidential candidate of their adopted political party, the ADC. So far, the battle for the ticket is shaping up to be between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, and former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
However, Mr. Peter Obi who was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election is reluctant to fully commit to the ADC unless he is given an automatic ticket to run as the ADC presidential candidate. Atiku Abubakar on the other hand, sees the coalition as his brainchild and has laid all the ground works necessary to see to his emergence as the ADC presidential candidate without any strong challenge.