2027 presidency ticket can wait, says Atiku.

As opposition mounts against his perceived plan to run for the presidency for the seventh consecutive time in 2027, former Vice President Atiku has said that his focus is on building a solid coalition of like minded people to rescue Nigeria, and not on the presidential ticket.

Spokesman to the former Vice President, Paul Ibe, who spoke exclusively to KTH.ng yesterday said Atiku is engaged in building a coalition because “there’s no single party acting alone” that can defeat the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“So right now, the 2027 presidential ticket is not the focus. The focus is on working on a coalition and all its modalities. Talking about the 2027 presidential elections now will amount to swimming against the tide. We need to build a viable coalition as a platform before we even begin to discuss who will be running for president or not,” he told this newspaper.

According to him, Nigeria is at a critical juncture and requires a solid platform, and from that platform, a leader with experience and grit “to stop this drift.” Ibe said that Nigeria requires an intervention akin to the 2015 “doctrine of necessity,” and that while “citizens are grappling with the harsh realities of survival, we cannot be talking about presidential ambitions.”

Atiku, who is viewed as the top contender in the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is facing mounting opposition within his party over the presidential ticket ahead of the coming election.

If he eventually picks the ticket, the 2027 election will be his seventh shot at the country’s highest office, having earlier contested the presidential election in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.

While some are of the opinion that at 81 in 2027, Atiku should instead support a younger candidate for the seat, his supporters insist that he is still mentally alert and strong enough for the job.

Opponents of Atiku’s ambition

Baba-Ahmed

At the weekend, former Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum and ex-Political Adviser to the Vice President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, called on Atiku Abubakar to jettison his long-standing ambition of being elected Nigeria’s President.

Baba-Ahmed said Atiku, who has contested the presidency six times, should now assume the role of a statesman and support emerging leaders.

In a recent interview on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed expressed the same sentiments he shared in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu on April 23, where he advised Tinubu not to seek re-election in 2027. He argued that the country’s current state calls for a generational shift in leadership.

“If I could speak with Atiku, I would tell him the same thing I told President Tinubu—step aside and support a younger, more dynamic generation,” Baba-Ahmed stated, stressing that both the ruling APC and the opposition PDP need fresh, visionary candidates.

He suggested that the PDP stands a better chance in 2027 if it fields a younger, healthier candidate with integrity and innovative ideas. “Nigerians are desperate for leadership rooted in competence and empathy,” he said, dismissing the importance of regional origin in leadership selection.

Baba-Ahmed also cast doubt on whether Atiku or Labour Party’s Peter Obi could have outperformed President Tinubu, though he acknowledged Obi’s potential and ideas. Nevertheless, he maintained that the older generation of politicians must bow out. “The best service they can render now is to retire or be retired by voters,” he said.

Addressing speculation around his resignation from the Tinubu administration earlier this year, Baba-Ahmed said he accepted the appointment out of patriotism but left due to a lack of seriousness in governance. Despite being designated as a senior political adviser, he claimed he was never truly involved in policy matters nor had direct access to the president.

“I took the job hoping to contribute meaningfully to rebuilding the country. But there was no commitment, no drive,” he said. “I never even met the president during my tenure.”

He emphasized that while Vice President Shettima was not sidelined, the administration lacked the urgency to tackle the nation’s deepening problems. “I wouldn’t take the job again,” he said. “I don’t regret accepting it, but I saw no real will to fix Nigeria.”

Baba-Ahmed also criticized the APC for becoming a haven for politicians seeking protection from prosecution. “People aren’t defecting to APC for policy reasons—they’re looking for safety,” he said, adding that the EFCC lacks the independence to tackle corruption effectively.

He reserved his harshest criticism for former President Muhammadu Buhari, calling him the worst leader Nigeria has had. Despite supporting him in 2015, Baba-Ahmed said Buhari governed with apathy and failed to prioritize the country’s needs. “He didn’t represent the North or any real agenda just himself,” he said.

Comparing the Tinubu administration to Buhari’s, Baba-Ahmed noted that the country’s challenges particularly in the North have only worsened. “More lives are being lost now than before, but officials claim violence is down. Where do they get their data?” he asked.

He warned that Nigerians are losing patience with leadership that lacks vision, accountability, and empathy.

Nyesom Wike

Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, recently vowed that his principal will frustrate former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 presidential bid.

Olayinka made the declaration while reacting to Atiku’s recent comment that he had no regrets about not picking Wike as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s  candidate in the last election, had revealed that a committee presented him with three potential running mates—former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Wike, and ex-Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Okowa was ultimately chosen.

Responding via a post on X, on Wednesday, Olayinka dismissed Atiku’s remark, stating that Wike also had no regrets about losing the vice-presidential ticket to Okowa.

He insisted that Wike played a role in Atiku’s defeat in 2023 and would ensure he fails again in 2027.

“Two years after making the @OfficialPDPNig lose a presidential election it could have won, @atiku is giving reasons he did not pick @GovWike as his running mate and that he has no regrets.

“Someone should tell our serial presidential election contester that Wike also has no regret for ensuring that he failed in the election and will make sure that he fails again and again,” Olayinka wrote.

Bode George

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, also advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to give up his ambition to be president since he will be 81 in 2027.

George, who gave the advise at a press conference in Lagos,  said Atiku who started to contest for the presidency since 1993  should be satisfied with being an elder statesman.

“To Atiku, my advice is this, you will be 81 years old in 2027, and you have been contesting for the presidency since 1993. This is the time for you to calm down and act like an elder. I appeal to you in the name of the Almighty Allah, that you serve, to take it easy and leave everything for posterity,” he said.

The former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, also condemned the division in the party. He said some some party members were chasing personal interests.

“We are where we are today because of a self-inflicted crisis; we should bury our individual ambitions now and not allow the PDP to crumble, please. Elders of the party should tell some of these funny characters to cool off and think of our national interest instead of their personal interest.

“Nigerians are angry and hungry. Instead of telling the APC the truth, some divisive, arrogant and haughty members are busy romancing the ruling party and they are quick to refer to themselves as elder statesmen. Instead of instigating a crisis in our party, why are they not bold enough to defect to the APC? Do they really fear God at all? No member is big enough to hold the party to ransom,” George said.

He particularly with  pleaded with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to stop trying to bring down Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

“My advice to Wike is very simple. You are my political son. I am therefore appealing to him to cool off immediately. I know he was injured by friends during the last PDP presidential contest but I am advising him as a father to please take it easy. Nobody is bigger than any party. Forget what happened in the past and let us work together in the interest of this party.

“I want to ask the elders at the helm of affairs of our party today, ‘What exactly is the offence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State?’ What exactly is the offence of this gentleman that some elders of our party are trying to throw him under the bus because of political expediency? What exactly is going on that some party members don’t feel bothered about the happenings in Rivers State? Governor Fubara was helped by Governor Wike to become the number one citizen of the oil-bearing state. The governor himself acknowledged this on several occasions.

“Must the governor now behave like a slave to his predecessor and other characters because of this concept of godfatherism which is a misnomer in our politics? Why are some party members encouraging his predecessor to bring him down? He is in Abuja; he wants to control what goes on in Rivers State.

“Did the governors before him behave this way? Why are the party leaders not eager to mediate and bring both groups to normalcy? The PDP cannot continue like this. Why can’t we learn from our past mistakes? Is our party jinxed? Why can’t we tell all these troublemakers to go and sit down if they don’t want this party to move forward?,”he said.

Ayodele Fayose

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has reiterated his opposition to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition, declaring that he will once again work against Atiku if he decides to contest in the 2027 presidential election.

Fayose, a prominent member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the declaration during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today.”

“I publicly worked against Atiku, and I am saying for the second time, if Atiku comes again, I will work against him. It is time to learn our lesson,” Fayose said.

He attributed the internal crisis currently facing the PDP to the party’s failure to adhere to its zoning arrangement, which he claimed was disregarded in favour of Atiku’s candidacy in the 2023 presidential election.

“After eight years of a Northerner, it is the turn of a Southerner, which could involve someone from the East, South West or South South,” he stated. “Those who gave or zoned power back to the North caused all these problems.”

Fayose emphasized the importance of respecting power rotation, even if informally agreed upon, arguing that the refusal to support a Southern candidate undermined the unity of the party.

“You don’t have to like a Nyesom Wike or a Peter Obi, but there should be an unwritten, respected gentleman understanding of powershift,” he said.

Fayose’s comments are likely to further stir debate within the PDP as the party prepares for future elections amid ongoing efforts to resolve internal divisions.