Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to reconsider his presidential ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While speaking on Politics Today, a current affairs programme broadcast on Channels Television on Thursday, Baba-Ahmed encouraged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart to withdraw from the race and take on a more supportive, elder statesman role by backing a younger candidate.
“If I have the chance to sit with Atiku, I would say to him – Sir, you have done your bit, you have held up the democratic process, you represented it well, your name has been written in gold, it’s time to yield the ground to a younger person; don’t run in 2027, play a fatherly role,” he said.
The political analyst further noted that Atiku’s support for a more vibrant and less controversial candidate could significantly improve the PDP’s chances of unseating the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Find a good and young person. If he were to field a younger person that is more capable with less skeletons in their cupboard, somebody with less liabilities, in age, health, and everything; they will take APC to the cleaners,” Baba-Ahmed added.
He also raised concerns over the influx of individuals into the APC, claiming that the party has become a haven for defectors seeking personal gain or evading legal consequences.
“APC is growing with the wrong people, all these defections is aimed at one thing, they are looking for positions or running away from EFCC.
“The people running into the APC from all over the place are actually a liability, it’s simple a refugee camp that will burst,” he said.