2027: Atiku denies agreeing to step down for younger presidential aspirant

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed  reports suggesting that he intends to abandon his presidential ambition for another presidential aspirant.

Atiku was reported to have declared his readiness to step down for a younger and more acceptable candidate on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) during an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday.

But the former VP has dismissed the report as a misrepresentation of the interview.

In a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Thursday, Atiku said neither the video nor the transcript of the interview implied that he plans to step down for anyone.

The statement reads, “After a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview — in the original Hausa and the English translation — it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone.

“What Atiku Abubakar clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation.

“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged.

“For the record, therefore, the insinuations attributed to Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not reflect what he actually said.”