These are not the best of times for leading politician, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Over the last few months, he has been under heat from the APC, led by Pres. Bola Tinubu. He is under serious pressure to go back to the drawing board and review his 20207 political game plan.
He desires to be the next President and he has been at it since the 90s. His game plan is to defeat the incumbent President.
But all his plans and strategies are being seriously threatened by Pres. Bola Tinubu and the APC.
Many are worried for him that 10 months to the 2027 presidential elections, his party the ADC, which is the coalition of opposition parties does not have a presidential candidate yet or a running mate. And the INEC deadline for submission of names is fast approaching. Insiders say Atiku is sure of getting the ticket. And he wants Peter Obi to run with him.
But that seems difficult to achieve.
Peter Obi also wants the ticket. He does not want to be running mate to anybody. Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi is also in the race. He too wants the ticket. The predictions of many is that it is the presidential ticket and the zoning of party offices that will scatter the coalition if care is not taken.
No date has been fixed for the ADC party Convention to elect officials. The party is saddled with the onerous responsibility of coming out with a zoning formular that will be favourable.
As if this is not enough President Tinubu has weakened his base in Adamawa base. The governor of his state has decamped to APC with a lot of party members.
According to politicians, all Politics is local. And many had expected that Atiku’s base his secure until a few days ago when the governor moved to APC. This made Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information & Strategy to mock Atiku, telling him to retire and go to his 2nd home in Dubai.
Bayo Onanuga, said this in a post on his verified X handle last Friday.
His remark follows the defection of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State (Atiku’s home state) to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Onanuga said, “Adamawa Governor Fintiri joins the APC taking away Atiku’s entire home base to President Tinubu’s party. This is a big blow for Atiku.”
“With the presidential election less than a year away, Fintiri’s defection is surely a big blow to veteran presidential runner Atiku Abubakar.
“His ADC is largely unknown in the state. He certainly needs to reassess his ambition, as his governor has turned the APC into an Adamawa juggernaut.
“If a politician is not so popular at home, he has no business selling his candidacy to outsiders. The time is nigh for Atiku to consider retiring from politics and going to his second home in Dubai.”
Taking to his X platform on Friday, Onanuga said politicians must maintain strong home-state support before seeking broader national influence.
While highlighting the political implications of Fintiri’s move, Onanuga asserted that Atiku’s political prospects are fading as his coalition continues to “disintegrate
Governor Fintiri had announced his defection in a statewide broadcast, saying the decision was driven by the developmental interest of the people of Adamawa.
He confirmed that several lawmakers, cabinet members, and PDP officials aligned with him, strengthening APC’s organizational presence in the state.
It was earlier reported that the Adamawa governor and the commissioners made their position known during a public declaration.
A few weeks back, his son joined the APC not minding that his father is in ADC.
The fact that the candidates he supported lost out in the Abuja local elections has not also helped.
It was the same thing that happened in other bye elections.
But all these won’t deter Atiku.
