2027: Atiku’s Final Contest Will End In Rejection By Nigerians — APC Secretary Basiru

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is heading for his final political contest where Nigerians will reject him.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday while assessing the Renewed Hope scorecard, Basiru dismissed the opposition’s economic proposals as unrealistic and deceptive.

Responding to a question on what the APC will tell voters against opponents like Atiku and Peter Obi who promise lean governance, Basiru said:

“You see, there is… we must… Amilcar Cabral said that ‘tell no lie, claim no easy victories.’ You see, some of these people can just come and make statements. I learned one of them even said, ‘I’m going to make petrol 200 Naira, 300 Naira.’ You don’t think it’s possible? It’s not possible, it’s just lying. You must not lie to the people because you want to get their votes. You must even say something that is even realistic.”

The APC scribe questioned Atiku’s credentials to speak on the economy, describing him as a non-professional.

“Atiku is not a professional, please, with respect, please. He’s not a professional. Atiku trained as a hygiene expert, a school of hygiene in Kano. He’s a wole-wole man, and he went, I mean, to be a tax collector in custom. Where is the expertise? What has he done? Check his profile!

So, you should note the fact that you became a vice president does not make you to be an expert. What is the expertise?” he said.

Basiru likened Atiku to Kenya’s veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.

“Atiku looks like a threat to your side? Atiku, you know, is the ‘Odinga’ of our country. And that’s what the Vice President said. I like that statement very well.

Atiku, election… he’s doing his last, I mean, contest by which he will know that Nigerian people will reject him,” he declared.

He further blamed Atiku for part of Nigeria’s economic challenges, citing privatization deals carried out under his watch as Vice President.

“If there are challenges that is being addressed by President Bola Tinubu, one of the major people that caused that challenges is Atiku Abubakar. Oshogbo Steel rolling mill was sold by Atiku Abubakar. The Machine Tools was sold at pittance. Those are supposed to be the building blocks of an industrial economy,” Basiru added.

He insisted that the Tinubu administration is addressing foundational economic issues inherited from past governments.