• Friday, May 03, 2024
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BusinessDay

Atiku deserves another chance in 2027 – Bwala

Tribunal’s judgement ‘bereft of substantial justice’, says Atiku ….vows to challenge decision at Supreme Court

Spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organization, Daniel Bwala on Wednesday said the former Vice President deserves another chance to vie for the 2027 Presidency.

Bwala in an interview aired at ChannelsTV, confirmed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election has what it takes to win the election in a free and fair contest.

“Sure, he would run. He has the capacity, he has the wisdom, he has the knowledge, he has the energy,” he said.

Bwala who described Atiku Abubakar as the” President we never had”, added that “Because to be honest with you, if any politician understands the private sector very well, it is Atiku Abubakar, and our economy can only come alive if there is a private sector-led economy.”

Bwala, a legal practitioner and political analysts have noted that Atiku’s persistent presidential ambitions may be contributing to the internal turmoil within the PDP.

If Atiku Abubakar contests the 2027 election, he would have set a record of contesting the Presidential election for the seventh time, having previously contested in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and in 2023,

Atiku Abubakar came second in the 2023 Presidential election with a total of 6,984,520 votes as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The PDP candidate was defeated by President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who polled a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), his closet rival.

The Labour Party flag bear, Peter Obi polled a total of 6,101,533 to place third.

Many believe that the former Vice President lost the 2023 presidential election due to the internal political wranglings within his party, as five PDP controlled states, including Rivers, Benue, Oyo, Enugu and Abia failed to fully back his candidature due to differences arising from the party presidential primary.

Nyesom Wike, the then Rivers state Governor and main political rival in the PDP primary, pulled the five Governors to form a group known as G5 Governors to work against Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election.

It is however not clear if the party can rebrand and reconcile its members to build a formidable force against the incumbent President Bola Tinubu who is also expected to run for a second tenure.

Only recently the party said it is working to unite all the other opposition parties to form a coalition against the ruling APC ahead of the 2027 general election.

The labour Party LP, however had consistently insisted that it will not be party to any plan to form any alliance of opposition parties, but would rather prefer to go into the race alone in 2027.