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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to forget about politics because he’s no longer “a force to reckon with” in Nigerian politics.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election has declared his interest to contest again in 2027.
It would be recalled that after the Supreme Court affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu in 2023, Atiku hinted that he would stick around and run again in 2027.
“As for me and my party, this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away. For as long as I breathe, I will continue to struggle with other Nigerians to deepen our democracy and rule of law and for the kind of political and economic restructuring, the country needs to reach its true potential,” Atiku said.
On Tuesday, January 2, 2023, Atiku’s spokesperson, Daniel Bwala confirmed his principal’s readiness to contest for president in 2027.
Speaking on Channels TV, Bwala described the former VP as the president Nigeria never had.
When asked if Atiku would contest in the 2027 presidential election, Bwala said, “Sure, he would run. He has the capacity, he has the wisdom, he has the knowledge, he has the energy.
“And he is a president we never had. Because to be honest with you, if any politician understands the private sector very well, it is Atiku Abubakar and our economy can only come alive if there is a private sector-led economy. He’s the president the country is missing because of his experience and capacity.’’
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed Atiku, describing his 2027 presidential ambition as the most laughable news in 2024.
In an interview with The Punch, the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said the announcement by Bwala showed that the former VP is surrounded by people who don’t tell him the truth.
He advised Atiku to forget about politics because he has never been a force to reckon with and cannot be in 2027.
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The APC chieftain said, “Atiku should better forget about politics completely. I think this is the imagination of Bwala and a few others around him. And it only goes to tell you that Atiku is surrounded by people who mislead him because anybody who has real feelings and concern for Atiku will not advise him to run against Tinubu again; not in the far future.
“This is not an issue of concern to the APC at all. Atiku is not a force to reckon with. He has never been a force to reckon with and he cannot be in 2027 when he must have diminished in terms of political value. We have not gotten to the bridge, but when we get there we will cross it.”
Atiku has attempted to become Nigeria’s President six times but was unsuccessful. He contested in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and recently in 2023.