Atiku declares 2027 presidential bid

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has confirmed his intention to contest for the Nigerian presidency in 2027.

The announcement was made through one of his spokespersons from the 2023 presidential election, Tunde Olusunle, who spoke to ThisDay on his behalf.

Olusunle stated that Atiku’s decision to run again is motivated by a desire to rescue Nigeria from what he describes as the “Intensive Care Unit” under President Bola 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.”