Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said he is ready to step down from the 2027 presidential race if a younger and more vibrant candidate emerges under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Atiku said he is not desperate to be president but is committed to rescuing Nigeria from what he described as “decades of bad leadership.”
He stressed that young Nigerians must not shy away from the race, noting that ADC which he now supports after leaving the crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); was formed to provide a strong opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Atiku accused the APC government of infiltrating the PDP and frustrating efforts to rebuild it. “We couldn’t achieve reforms in PDP because some of its leaders were compromised,” he said.
Atiku also mocked President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, describing it as empty rhetoric divorced from Nigeria’s daily struggles.
In his national broadcast, Tinubu assured Nigerians that the “worst was over,” citing reforms in power, education, and infrastructure. But Atiku dismissed the claims as unrealistic.
“The yam may be plentiful, but if the pot is empty, the stomach still rumbles,” Atiku said in a statement through his aide, Phrank Shaibu. He argued that while Tinubu spoke of progress, Nigerians still grapple with hunger, insecurity, and soaring inflation.
Atiku also revisited Tinubu’s controversial removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, blaming it for the hardship facing Nigerians. He recalled that during his time as Vice President, his team had proposed a phased removal with cushioning measures for the poor.
“But Tinubu’s government removed subsidy overnight without planning. That decision pushed millions into poverty,” he said.
Atiku concluded by urging Nigerians to measure progress not by government speeches, but by the realities of food on the table, functional schools, working hospitals, and safe communities.
