Focus on Your Title’ — Kwankwaso’s Blunt Message to Atiku”

NDC vice-presidential candidate cites Atiku’s age and health, tells Fulani leaders his party will “take good care of him” if he steps aside.

The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has called on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to abandon his 2027 presidential ambition and concentrate instead on his traditional title as the Wazirin Adamawa, citing his age and health.

Kwankwaso made the remarks in Abuja on Thursday during a meeting with members of the Fulani Farmers Association at his residence, where the two sides discussed political developments ahead of the 2027 general election.

“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 was quoted as telling his visitors.

The former Kano State governor, who is running as running mate to the NDC’s presidential candidate, said the party would “take good care” of Atiku should he step aside from the race — a remark widely interpreted within opposition circles as an appeal for Atiku to throw his support behind a united front against President Tinubu.

Atiku, a former Vice-President under Olusegun Obasanjo and a multiple-time presidential candidate, had not publicly responded to Kwankwaso’s comments as of the time of this report.

The remarks come at a period of visible strain within Nigeria’s opposition ranks, with several prominent figures, including Atiku, Peter Obi and Kwankwaso himself, all understood to be positioning for the 2027 race under different platforms, complicating earlier efforts to build a single coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Political observers say Kwankwaso’s call reflects an ongoing contest for leadership of Nigeria’s fractured opposition, with rival camps continuing to disagree over which candidate should lead a unified challenge to Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku’s continued ambition has been a recurring point of friction within opposition ranks since his defeat in the 2023 presidential election, with critics questioning whether repeated candidacies have helped or hurt the PDP’s broader electoral prospects, while his supporters maintain his experience remains an asset heading into a keenly contested race.

Neither the PDP nor Atiku’s campaign organisation had issued a formal reaction to Kwankwaso’s comments by the time of filing this report.