Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar announced he would step down from the 2027 presidential race if a younger candidate defeats him for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ticket.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Hausa, Atiku assured that he would support and mentor the winner.
“This is only the beginning. Our priority is to establish the party and gain a strong following,” Abubakar said when asked if he would contest.
“If I run for office, and a young man defeats me, I will accept that. The party we have joined now prioritises youth and women,” he said.
Mum on his candidacy, Abubakar emphasised the need to establish the party and gain followers. Both Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 candidate, and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who are younger, have expressed interest in the ADC ticket.
Abubakar resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in July, accusing it of straying from its founding ideals and being infiltrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC). He claimed that the PDP is divided due to the APC’s efforts to undermine the opposition.
“As the day went by, the crisis in PDP was growing, and the hope of resolving it was speedily vanishing because the government was allegedly using some senior members of the party to destabilise the party further, and we could see that in their actions and utterances.
“I could have taken some firm decisions to fix the party if I were the chairman or secretary of the party, or someone who listened to me was the chairman or secretary. Sadly, the people occupying those positions have different interests that are primarily personal to them,” he said.
