Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has declared that he will contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Nigeria must be “rescued from the intensive care unit” where it has been plunged by poor governance.
Atiku, who spoke from the United Arab Emirates in a telephone interview, distanced himself from comments credited to Professor Ola Olateju of Achievers University, Ondo, who had suggested that the former vice-president was not desperate to become president.
He stressed that Olateju did not speak for him, adding that he remains committed to running in 2027 on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition.
“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 poverty, the anguish, the deceit and lack of accountability are unacceptable,” Atiku said.
He added that the ADC movement would shock the political establishment in 2027, promising to lead a “reclamation and reconstruction of our traumatised homeland.”
Atiku, who will be 81 at the time of the polls, has contested Nigeria’s presidency six times, three of which were as a candidate — in 2007, 2019, and 2023.
