• Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says the ADC will first pursue consensus in choosing its 2027 presidential candidate
• He disclosed that the party will conduct primary elections if consensus talks fail
• Atiku also said he is ready to step aside for any candidate who wins through consensus or primaries

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election will ideally emerge through consensus.

The former vice president said the party would only conduct primary elections if stakeholders fail to agree on a consensus candidate.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE TV on Wednesday, April 15, Atiku said, “The first option will be to work out a consensus. If that doesn’t work out, then we will go for primary elections. But I will support anybody who emerges.”

He also said he would be willing to step aside if another candidate emerges either through consensus or through the party’s primary process.

“I will step aside for any winner,” he said.

When asked specifically about Peter Obi, Atiku responded, “Of course, if he is a contender, why not?”

Atiku also made it clear that the 2027 election would be his final attempt at the presidency.

“Certainly yes, the stakes are higher because I believe that will be my last outing,” he said.

When asked again to confirm his decision, he replied, “That’s incontrovertible.”

The former vice president admitted that he still has the task of persuading Nigerians to support his ambition once more, despite criticism that he belongs more to the past than the future.

“I represent both the past and the future,” he said.

According to Atiku, the performance of younger leaders in government has not completely lived up to public expectations.

“We have seen various levels of leadership in the country, both young and old, and we’re experiencing them. And I still believe that our expectations of the young leadership are below what we thought,” he said.

He added that experience remains an important factor in leadership, citing lessons he learned while serving under Olusegun Obasanjo.

“What I was able to learn from President Obasanjo through his experience, I couldn’t have learned it outside,” he said.

Atiku argued that younger politicians still need mentorship and exposure to governance.

“Young men also require experience to be able to succeed,” he said.

He also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, describing its performance as disappointing.

“Bola has been a very bad President, to be honest with you. In the way he governs the country, whether economically or otherwise, it’s a disappointment,” he said.

Atiku further warned against what he described as the growing concentration of power in the presidency.

“We have seen how, virtually, you know, the presidency has almost turned the various institutions that are supposed to be checks and balances, under one roof, which is quite dangerous,” he said.

The Waziri Adamawa also said he is among the major figures driving a political coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.

“I am one of the initiators of this coalition, or perhaps the leading initiator of the coalition,” he said.

According to him, coalition politics remains the best strategy for winning elections in Nigeria.

“I studied the political history of Nigeria; the only future is a broad coalition,” he added.

He said the alliance already includes members from the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and Labour Party.

“You have elements from APC, from PDP, from NNPP, from Labour. So that makes it a much broader coalition,” he said.

Atiku also expressed confidence in his support base in Northern Nigeria.

“The North still remains my major political base,” he stated.

On constitutional reforms, he said he would support making zoning a constitutional requirement in order to guarantee fairness in power rotation.

“Even if it is the only amendment I can make, I will move towards that,” he said.

Despite his ambition, Atiku insisted that the future of Nigeria’s politics should eventually be left for younger generations.

“I’m not stepping down,” Atiku fires back at 2027 withdrawal claims

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had dismissed claims that he had withdrawn from the 2027 presidential race, describing the reports as false and misleading.

Atiku said the rumours suggesting he had stepped away from active politics were part of a “coordinated disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting him.

He also refuted claims of a national-level meeting with African Democratic Congress stakeholders, claiming that his only recent engagement was with ADC members in Adamawa State.