Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has declared that the 2027 general elections will not be a conventional political contest but a battle between Nigerians and the current Tinubu-led administration.

Reacting to the recent defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa  his 2023 running mate  from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku emphasized that he bears no ill will toward defectors, affirming the constitutional right to freedom of association.

“Let me be unequivocal: freedom of association and expression are not optional in a democracy  they are fundamental rights,” Atiku wrote on his verified Facebook page.

He noted, however, that the core issue at stake is Nigeria’s deepening crisis under President Bola Tinubu.
“The coming political battle is not APC versus PDP, or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering,” Atiku said, listing economic collapse, inflation, and rising youth unrest as urgent concerns.

Addressing criticism over his recent visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku defended the move as part of healthy democratic consultations. “Why is it now sacrilegious for me to visit Buhari in Kaduna?” he asked, citing similar historical precedents during the 2013 opposition merger.

He accused the Tinubu government of fostering chaos and division as a political strategy.
“The real enemy is not one another it is the Tinubu administration’s abysmal failure… Its only strategy is chaos and division the last refuge of the incompetent.”

Atiku urged Nigerians to unite beyond ethnic or regional lines to rescue the country, stating that only a united front could overcome the nation’s current hardship.