Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, has never hidden his intention to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. Unlike before, Atiku had been a major critic of President Tinubu’s administration and has enhanced his visibility as he appeared in public often.
In 2023, Atiku tried his seventh chance to become Nigerian president when he contested against President Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election but lost the poll to the Lagos-born politician.
Atiku’s 30-year journey to becoming Nigeria’s number one citizen ended in defeat at the ballot box and in court, with the former vice president coming, seeing, and failing to conquer when the Supreme Court struck out his appeal against President Tinubu in 2023.
Interestingly, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election had vowed to try his luck for the eighth time in the 2027 presidential election, and he appeared to be working tirelessly to make his dream come true.
Atiku became major critic of Tinubu’s policies
In making his dream come true, Atiku was vocal about President Tinubu’s policies and projects, passing comments that appeared to put the president on his toes as there had always been a response from the presidency.
One of Atiku’s major criticisms that consistently received responses from the presidency was his call for transparency on the Lagos to Calabar highway project.
In a statement, his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former vice president, challenged the Tinubu administration to disclose the project’s cost.
He added that the government can’t continue to be mute on how public funds were being spent at a time when the country was in dire economic challenges.
Atiku also questioned the release of N1.06tn for the pilot phase, or 6% of the project, which started from the Eko Atlantic and is expected to end at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
Atiku visits Buhari in Daura
Atiku has also enhanced his visibility as he appears in public events, and an associate has said that his recent visit to immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari was strategic.
Though the PDP leader said he had visited Buhari on a Sallah homage, the associate disclosed that the two Nigerian leaders discussed the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
Atiku’s visit to Buhari has been described as “historic” because it will be the first of its kind since the former vice president dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) soon after forming an alliance with the former president ahead of the 2015 election.
However, the source, an associate of the former vice president who was privy to the meeting, revealed that Atiku and Buhari discussed the Nigerian economy and the 2023 and 2027 general elections.
Atiku visited Babangida, Abubakar
Meanwhile, Buhari was not the only former president Atiku visited during the Sallah holiday; the PDP chieftain also visited former President Ibrahim Babangida and ex-head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger state, on Wednesday, June 19.
In a tweet, the former vice president said:
“Today, I paid Sallah homage to former Heads of State Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and Gen. Abdusalami at their residences in Minna, Niger State.”
See the tweets of his visits here:
