Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed reports suggesting he plans to withdraw from the 2027 presidential election in favor of a younger aspirant, describing the claims as a deliberate distortion of his words.
The denial came in response to widespread reports alleging that Atiku had pledged to step aside if a younger candidate defeated him in securing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket. The reports claimed the Wazirin Adamawa made the statement during an interview with BBC Hausa Service, where he allegedly said his current priority was building the ADC into a formidable party with strong national and grassroots presence.
In a statement issued Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku’s team strongly refuted the characterization of his BBC interview, stating that a comprehensive review of both the video footage and transcripts in Hausa and English revealed no such commitment.
“After a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview, in the original Hausa and the English translation, it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone,” the statement read.
According to Ibe, Atiku’s actual remarks were significantly different from what was reported. The former vice president had simply stated that young people and other prospective presidential aspirants were welcome to participate in the contest. He emphasized that if a young candidate emerged victorious through a competitive primary process, he would support that candidate without hesitation.
Ibe condemned what he described as a deliberate misrepresentation of Atiku’s position, drawing a distinction between legitimate interpretative journalism and journalistic mischief.
“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged. For the record, therefore, the insinuations attributed to Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not reflect what he actually said,” Ibe stated.
The media adviser made clear that Atiku has not made any decision to withdraw from the presidential race before it begins, putting to rest speculation about the former vice president’s political plans ahead of the 2027 general elections.
