The All Progressives Congress (APC) has backed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, urging Nigerians not to entrust him with another leadership position ahead of the 2027 general election.
The ruling party said Obasanjo’s assessment of Atiku was based on firsthand experience after both men served together between 1999 and 2007.
APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru said the former president was speaking from a position of knowledge, describing Atiku as a serial defector whose political record should concern Nigerians.
“Obasanjo has said so many things about Atiku, and he is in a position to know who the former vice president is,” Basiru said.
He added that Obasanjo’s remarks should serve as a warning to Nigerians.
“No serious Nigerian should take Atiku seriously or give him another leadership opportunity. Obasanjo has said Atiku was corrupt, disloyal and many things.”
The APC’s comments followed Obasanjo’s remarks on Friday in Lagos, where he described choosing Atiku as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election as the biggest mistake of his presidency.
The former president said:
“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two. If I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.”
Responding through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku dismissed suggestions that Obasanjo’s comments would affect his chances in the 2027 presidential election.
He insisted that Nigerians, not Obasanjo, would decide the outcome of the election.
“The election will be determined by Nigerians… All he has said will not affect Atiku’s chances in 2027.”
Ibe accused the former president of allowing personal grievances to influence his public remarks and described the attacks as politically motivated.
He argued that Obasanjo had continued to criticise Atiku years after they left office, despite the former vice president’s role in their administration.
Atiku also maintained that he had no regrets over opposing the failed constitutional amendment that sought to extend Obasanjo’s tenure beyond two terms.
In an earlier statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said resisting the proposed third-term agenda remained one of the defining decisions of his political career.
According to Atiku, any resentment stemming from his opposition to the constitutional amendment was a price worth paying in defence of Nigeria’s democracy.
He also noted that Obasanjo’s latest criticism came shortly after World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala publicly commended the economic management team that served during the Obasanjo administration.
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