Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the 2027 general election will not be a traditional battle between political parties, but a referendum by the Nigerian people against the present administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku Abubakar emphasized that the recent defections from the PDP to the APC should not divert attention from the pressing issues plaguing Nigeria under the present administration.
In a lengthy social message posted on his official page on Friday, the former presidential hopeful, said it had become necessary to address the recent political developments in Nigeria.
He said “I have been overwhelmed with inquiries from concerned Nigerians, all eager to understand my position on the latest political shifts let me be unequivocal, freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy — they are fundamental rights.”
According to Atiku, defections, political alliances, and realignments are routine elements of democratic politics and should not be overblown or misinterpreted.
He stressed that he holds no resentment toward those who have chosen different political paths, emphasizing his long-standing commitment to democratic values and institutions.
“Let us be clear: the coming political battle is not APC versus PDP, or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering,” he asserted.
Atiku condemned what he described as a “selective outrage” by critics who took issue with his recent visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He argued that political consultations across party lines should not be demonized, especially when similar actions by others are framed as strategic.
“Some have resorted to insults because I visited former President Muhammadu Buhari. Let’s not rewrite history,” he said, recalling how opposition leaders in 2013 consulted with key national figures, including Buhari, Obasanjo, and Babangida, during the formation of the APC. “Why is it now sacrilegious for me to visit Buhari in Kaduna?”
He called out the double standards within political discourse: “When PDP leaders are brokering power deals with President Tinubu, it’s called a strategic alliance. But the moment I greet Peter Obi, el-Rufai, or visit Buhari, it becomes a national emergency. Hypocrisy and the politics of selective outrage have never been this fashionable.”
According to him, “This moment is about collective survival,” he said. “The real enemy is not one another — it is the Tinubu administration’s abysmal failure.
“The Tinubu administration has no achievements to stand on, no credible record to defend. Its only strategy is chaos and division, because that’s the last refuge of the incompetent,” Atiku declared. “And make no mistake—an incompetent captain does not only wreck his ship; he endangers the lives of everyone on board.
