Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has said he will contest for president in the 2027 general election.
His declaration is coming after
Ola Olateju, a professor at the Achievers University in Ondo, said Atiku was not desperate to become president of Nigeria in 2027.
Olateju had ron Saturday, represented Atiku at a ceremony to welcome defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos.
“Atiku Abubakar’s plan is to build a better Nigeria. It’s not about him being president. It’s about having a good government that can deliver for Nigerians. It’s not a personal thing for him, and that’s why some of us are with him. It’s not about Atiku having to be president at all costs,” he said.
However, Olateju’s remarks have been dismissed by Atiku.
Speaking in an interview with Tunde Olusunle, who was special adviser on media and publicity to Atiku during the 2023 presidential election, the ex-vice president who is currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), rejected Olateju’s comments.
“I did not issue that statement. When people stand in for me at events, we preview my thoughts on the instant subject and what my contribution or intervention will be, so we are on the same page,” he said.
“In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distil my thoughts. Prof Olateju was not speaking for me.
“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.
“The accompanying deceit, the loss of values, the mega-scale, unimpeded thievery, the absolute lack of accountability, must disturb every concerned patriot. I will be offering myself to lead the reclamation and reconstruction of our traumatised homeland.”
Abubakar said the ADC coalition will create an upset in the 2027 elections.
