“You’d Have Kept Presidential Ticket For Yourself If You Could” – Atiku Replies Wike

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has responded to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike’s claim that he won’t be allowed to emerge as PDP’s presidential candidate in 2027.

Atiku, through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, suggested Wike would have allocated the party’s ticket to himself if he had the power. Shaibu cited Atiku’s past victories over Wike, including the 2019 election and 2023 primaries.

Shaibu said: “If he had the power to distribute presidential tickets like party favours, he’d certainly have kept one for himself. After all, Atiku thoroughly schooled him and his chosen protégé in his own backyard ahead of the 2019 election and then handed him a resounding defeat in the 2023 primaries in Abuja.

“Yet, despite his public proclamation that Tinubu is destined to win in 2027, here he is, obsessing over who gets to be the PDP’s candidate.

Shaibu said that the focus should shift from political manoeuvring to addressing Nigeria’s worsening living conditions.

“Isn’t it too early in the day for that? Our focus should be on the real issues—the worsening conditions of living for Nigerians.

“This hunger is becoming unbearable; it’s what we should be addressing, not political manoeuvres for 2027,” Shaibu said while speaking with Daily Post.

Wike had stated that Atiku was lobbying for another chance at being the PDP presidential candidate in 2027 but wouldn’t be given the opportunity.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike said, “He is lobbying for another chance, but the chance will not be there. In which party? How can we rely on one man for so many years?”