Atiku Abubakar, the opposition leader and former vice president, has refuted circulating claims that he intends to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race in favor of a younger contender. He clarified that these assertions misinterpret a recent interview he gave to the BBC Hausa Service.
In a statement released on Thursday and signed by Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, it was emphasized that the former vice president never explicitly or implicitly indicated any plan to step aside for another candidate.
Instead, Atiku highlighted that his position is supportive of a competitive primary process, where if a youthful candidate emerges victorious, he would back that individual wholeheartedly in the upcoming election.
“It is important to address the inaccuracies stemming from some media outlets’ coverage of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s interview with BBC Hausa Service,” the statement read.
“A careful examination of the interview footage and transcripts, both in the original Hausa and the English translation, confirms that Atiku did not at any time declare or hint at stepping down for anyone else.
“He clearly stated that young aspirants, along with other hopefuls, are welcome to participate in the race. Moreover, he expressed his willingness to support a young candidate who wins through a fair and competitive primary process without hesitation.”
“While interpretative reporting is a recognized part of journalism, distorting statements to the point of misrepresentation is unacceptable and should be discouraged.”
“Therefore, the suggestions attributed to Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not represent his actual words,” Paul Ibe concluded.
