The Waziri of Adamawa and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has declared that he will not retire from politics as long as he is alive. In a recent interview on BBC Hausa’s political program, he stated, “If anyone thinks we will sit behind and continue to watch how Nigerians are suffering and are being oppressed, then I think that person is dreaming. Because I am not tired of politics at all and will never be. You should wait and see in 2027 whether I will contest or not. We struggled for the establishment of this democratic system and will continue to ensure it is sustained. Therefore we will not sit back and watch things going the wrong way.”
Atiku has been a prominent political figure since 1989 and was closely associated with the late General Shehu Yar’adua. Throughout his political career, he has been a member of several political parties in Nigeria. He was elected Governor of Adamawa State in 1998 but subsequently became the running mate of President Olusegun Obasanjo and served as vice president after their election victory.
Since then, Atiku has been a party presidential candidate three times, although he has contested presidential primaries on numerous occasions. In 2007, he was the presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) but was defeated by the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua of the PDP. In 2019, he lost the election to former President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, and in 2023, he lost the presidential contest under the PDP once again.