Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has stated that the political future of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar “looks bleak.”
Onanuga’s comments come after Abubakar’s efforts to form a coalition to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections reportedly faltered.
On Wednesday, April 23, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and several prominent political figures from the state defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. It is also speculated that Ifeanyi Okowa, the former Delta governor and PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, is expected to join the ruling party as well. Okowa had been handpicked by Abubakar as his running mate in the last presidential election.
The PDP is currently facing a wave of defections, with more party leaders potentially joining the APC shortly. Onanuga, responding to a post on X by Tunde Rahman, said that Okowa’s defection and the stance of former members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) had undermined the proposed coalition.
“Atiku’s political future looks bleak. The coalition that he, El Rufai, Babachir, and new member Baba-Ahmed are cobbling together has disintegrated,” Onanuga stated. “Potential allies, including former running mate Ifeanyi Okowa and defunct CPC members, are giving his leprous group a wide berth. Atiku is a loser again.”
Abubakar has repeatedly expressed his intention to build a coalition of opposition political parties to challenge the APC in 2027. However, PDP governors have ruled out any possibility of a merger or coalition with other political parties.
