Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied reports suggesting that he had agreed to step down for any aspirant ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, in a statement on Thursday, faulted sections of the media for what he described as a misrepresentation of the interview the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate granted to the BBC Hausa Service.
“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,” Ibe said.
“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,” he added.
According to him, Atiku only reiterated that younger Nigerians and other interested aspirants were free to contest the presidential ticket, stressing that the Waziri Adamawa had promised to support any credible young candidate who emerged through a competitive process.
“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,” Ibe stated.
He, however, warned against what he described as “interpretative journalism stretched to the point of mischief,” insisting that insinuations attributed to the former Vice President did not reflect his true position.
Atiku is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, which some opposition figures have adopted as a rallying point to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress.
In July, the former Vice President formally resigned from the PDP, citing irreconcilable differences. He said his decision to quit was informed by the current trajectory of the opposition party, which, according to him, had deviated from its founding principles.
Atiku, who served as Vice President between 1999 and 2007 under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been the PDP’s presidential candidate twice—losing to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and to the incumbent, President Bola Tinubu, in 2023.
