Atiku’s 2027 ambition dead on arrival, says Presidency

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a post on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, said the outing exposed a lack of vision, coherence and readiness for leadership at the highest level.

“Atiku Abubakar’s latest television outing didn’t cover him in glory, it was a disaster, an unraveling broadcast in real time,” Dare wrote.

According to him, Nigerians who watched the interview were presented not with leadership or policy direction, but “a disjointed, self-indulgent performance marked by contradictions, bluster, and a startling absence of substance on matters of national importance.”

The presidential aide argued that at a time the country is implementing difficult but necessary economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former vice president failed to provide any credible alternative.

“When pressed for policy direction, there was none. No framework, no roadmap, just the familiar refrain of opposition for its own sake. Strip away the rhetoric, and one thing becomes clear: the only discernible agenda is personal ambition,” he said.

Dare further criticised Atiku’s dismissal of ongoing reforms, describing it as “criticism without substance,” which he said amounted to evasion rather than leadership.

He also accused the former vice president of alienating key constituencies through his remarks, noting that the interview lacked any tone of unity or coalition-building.

“It was not a message of unity or coalition-building; it was a monologue of grievance. That is not leadership, it is isolation,” Dare stated.

He added that effective leadership requires discipline, clarity and a unifying vision—qualities he said were absent in the interview, which instead reflected “fatigue, inconsistency, and a campaign anchored on looking backward rather than leading forward.”

The presidential spokesman maintained that while the country is moving forward with reforms, Nigerians are more interested in tangible results than recycled promises.

“For many Nigerians, that interview settled any lingering doubts. It was not just unconvincing, it was disqualifying,” he said.

Dare concluded that Atiku was not being denied political relevance but was instead “losing it, publicly, steadily, and now unmistakably.”