2027: Ex-Atiku Loyalists Declare Support for Tinubu’s Re-election

Former supporters of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The group, under the Forum of House of Representatives Aspirants, announced its decision on Thursday during a visit to the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

The forum’s National Coordinator, Mohammed Gashua, said the group was formed in 2022 under the PDP to unite aspirants who contested the party’s primaries but failed to secure its tickets.

He said the forum initially worked to maintain unity among the aspirants and mobilise support for Atiku’s presidential ambition and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

However, Gashua explained that subsequent political developments had led many members to leave the PDP and ADC for the APC, where they had resolved to work for Tinubu’s re-election.

“Following subsequent political developments, many of our forum members have joined the All Progressives Congress. We have since regrouped under APC, united by our resolve to support the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima,” he said.

Gashua said the forum had a nationwide membership drawn from the country’s 360 federal constituencies, which it planned to use for political mobilisation ahead of the next general election.

He pledged that members would deploy their experience, organisational capacity and political networks to support APC candidates contesting presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

“We are fully committed to deploying our collective experience, organisational capacity and political network towards securing victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima and all APC candidates at all levels,” Gashua said.

The forum also disclosed plans to promote the Tinubu administration’s achievements through public information materials aimed at countering what it described as misleading accounts of the government’s reforms.

Gashua said the group had reviewed the administration’s reform agenda and prepared a summary of its major achievements for public information.

“We recognise that opposition elements are misrepresenting the short-term effects of Mr President’s reforms. To provide accurate, balanced information, we have carefully reviewed the reform agenda and compiled a concise summary of President Tinubu’s key achievements for public information,” he said.

He appealed to the APC national chairman to support the production and nationwide distribution of the materials in major local languages and through different media platforms.

The group also proposed political conferences across the six geopolitical zones to communicate the administration’s policies and achievements.

Responding, Yilwatda welcomed the former Atiku supporters into the APC and described the party as an inclusive platform that accommodates people from different backgrounds.

He said the party provided opportunities for members regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity or disability status.

“Whether you are young or old, a woman or a man, or even a person with a disability, we have a space for you. Regardless of your religion or tribe, we have a space for you. Our party strives for unification,” Yilwatda said.

The APC chairman urged the aspirants not to allow unsuccessful primary elections to discourage them from participating in politics.

He recalled his own political setbacks, including a governorship election loss that he pursued up to the Supreme Court, saying he remained committed to the party until he later became a minister and subsequently its national chairman.

Yilwatda also recounted how floods destroyed his rice farm in Benue State in 1996, but said he persisted and recorded a bumper harvest the following year.

He used the experience to encourage the forum members to remain active in the party despite electoral disappointments.

On Tinubu’s performance, Yilwatda pointed to road construction projects across the country, arguing that the administration had made significant investments in infrastructure.

He listed the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road, Kano-Maradi route, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway among the projects. He also mentioned the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene-Benin corridor, Enugu-Onitsha road and the Enugu-Makurdi-Abuja route.

Other projects he cited included roads linking Kano with Jigawa and Daura, as well as routes connecting Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto and Illela.

“I can pinpoint many roads across the country that were constructed just in three years. Today, you cannot even move without seeing road construction. Which president has done that much in just three years?” he said.

Yilwatda assured the aspirants that the APC leadership would work with them and provide opportunities for their contributions to the party.

The forum members pledged loyalty to Tinubu, Shettima and the APC leadership. They also promised to abide by the party’s constitution and commit their resources, time and energy to its campaign ahead of the 2027 general election.