Former Kano State governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has urged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, citing his age and health.
Kwankwaso made the call in Abuja while receiving members of the Fulani Farmers Association at his residence.
He urged the group to appeal to Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, to reconsider his ambition and concentrate on his traditional position as the Wazirin Adamawa.
“Go to the Wazirin of Adamawa’s house and tell him in Fulani that he needs to focus on his traditional title of Wazirin, given his age and health,” Kwankwaso said.
He also assured Atiku that he and his political allies would take care of him if they won the 2027 election.
“If Allah grants us success, we will take good care of him, especially since you all come from Adamawa. An apology should be offered to him,” he added.
The comments come amid a major realignment of Nigeria’s opposition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Kwankwaso and Atiku were previously associated with efforts to build a broad opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress.
The arrangement changed after Kwankwaso and Peter Obi left the ADC-led coalition and joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress. Obi subsequently emerged as the NDC presidential candidate, with Kwankwaso as his running mate.
Atiku, meanwhile, secured the ADC presidential ticket and remains a major opposition challenger to President Bola Tinubu.
Kwankwaso’s call is particularly significant because Atiku has already acknowledged concerns about his age.
In April, Atiku said the 2027 presidential election would likely be his final attempt to become president.
“Certainly yes, because the stakes are higher and I believe that will be my last outing,” he said during an interview with Arise Television.
Atiku will be 80 during the 2027 election cycle.
The former vice-president has made several attempts to become Nigeria’s president. He was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007, 2019 and 2023, losing to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu respectively.
He has remained a prominent advocate of economic liberalisation, restructuring and private-sector-led growth, while presenting himself as an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Kwankwaso, however, is now seeking to consolidate his own political alliance with Obi ahead of the 2027 contest.
The NDC ticket represents one of the major opposition arrangements emerging ahead of the election, with both politicians seeking to combine their political bases and challenge the incumbent.
The development has also further complicated efforts to create a single opposition platform capable of concentrating votes against Tinubu.
With Atiku, Obi and other opposition figures pursuing separate political paths, the 2027 presidential contest is shaping up as another highly competitive election in which alliances, regional calculations and the age of candidates are likely to feature prominently.
