By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the 2027 presidential bid of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as a “desperate last dance,” questioning whether his campaign is driven by a compelling national agenda or the urgency of a final personal political ambition.
The party’s position was disclosed in a statement issued by the Lagos APC Spokesman, Hon. Seye Oladejo, on Saturday, 26 September, 2026, reacting to Atiku’s public declaration that 2027 would be his “last attempt” at the presidency.
The statement argued that such an admission entitled Nigerians to examine the increasingly frantic political manoeuvres surrounding his latest bid.
Addressing Atiku’s campaign communications strategy, the APC highlighted his decision to engage Kenneth Okonkwo as his 2027 campaign spokesperson, noting that Okonkwo had, in 2023, publicly criticised Atiku while serving as a spokesperson for Peter Obi’s Labour Party campaign.
The party described the turnaround as raising legitimate questions about whether the campaign’s objective was to communicate policy or provide an aggressive reputational makeover.
The statement further referenced Atiku’s reported engagement of a Washington-based lobbying firm, citing a US Department of Justice filing said to have stated that the engagement included efforts to strengthen Atiku’s reputational standing among US policymakers and counter narratives from the Nigerian government.
“So, from international lobbying to domestic political messaging, there appears to be a considerable investment in managing the Atiku narrative. But image management cannot substitute for a record,” the statement read.
On Atiku’s tenure as Vice President from 1999 to 2007, the APC recalled that his relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo deteriorated into a bitter political rupture, referencing Obasanjo’s account in his book, “My Watch,” in which he accused his former deputy of disloyalty and poor judgement.
The party clarified that these remained Obasanjo’s allegations and assessments rather than judicial findings, but insisted that the political record of the Obasanjo-Atiku years, including the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) affair and privatisation controversies, could not be excluded from the 2027 conversation.
The statement recalled that in August 2026, Obasanjo again publicly described his decision to select Atiku as running mate in 1999 as the “biggest mistake” of his presidency, arguing that the remark demonstrated the continued relevance of the old political rupture to public discourse.
“Atiku cannot ask Nigerians to celebrate his long experience in public service while simultaneously asking them to forget the controversies and institutional battles that accompanied that experience. Experience is not merely the number of years spent in office. It is also the record those years leave behind,” the statement read.
Turning to policy, the APC highlighted Atiku’s reversal on petrol subsidy, recalling that he had, during the 2023 campaign, argued that the subsidy was unsustainable and pledged to complete its removal, but has since declared, “I will restore it!”
The party acknowledged the political appeal of such a message amid economic pressures on Nigerians, but insisted that governance required more than attractive slogans.
“The question is how the government will sustainably achieve those lower prices without recreating the fiscal leakages, distortions, smuggling incentives and opaque practices associated with the old subsidy regime. Atiku therefore owes Nigerians more than attractive slogans. He owes them the arithmetic,” the statement read.
The party posed a series of questions regarding funding sources, spending ceilings, eligibility criteria, safeguards against corruption and the policy’s compatibility with the Petroleum Industry Act, describing these as governance questions rather than campaign questions.
The APC further criticised what it described as the Atiku campaign’s intense focus on President Bola Tinubu, arguing that opposition to a person must eventually give way to proposition for a country, and insisting that Nigerians deserved specifics on the economy, security, industrialisation, education, healthcare, infrastructure and institutional reform.
On Atiku’s political journey from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ADC, where he now leads a ticket alongside former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the party argued that changing political platforms did not automatically amount to changing political ideas, urging the electorate to interrogate the substance beneath the branding.
The statement concluded by insisting that the presidency of Nigeria was not a consolation prize for political longevity, challenging Atiku to present his plan, numbers, record and points of difference for scrutiny.
“The APC will defend its record and its agenda before Nigerians. The opposition is free to challenge the government. But Nigerians are equally free to ask hard questions. And the most important question for Atiku in 2027 may ultimately be very simple: Is this truly a new national project, or simply an old presidential ambition having one last dance?” the statement read.
