APC Urges Atiku To Quit Presidential Race, Says He Has Nothing To Offer

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson in Kano State, Mallam Alwan Hassan, has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to abandon his presidential ambition, accusing him of lacking fresh ideas and a credible record to address Nigeria’s challenges.

Mallam ALWAN HASSAN

Hassan said Atiku, who served as vice president between 1999 and 2007, should retire from active politics rather than continue seeking the presidency after several unsuccessful attempts.

The APC spokesperson stated this on during a press briefing in Kano, where he made a case for Northern Nigeria to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

He accused the former vice president of attempting to present himself as a solution to problems he allegedly failed to address while serving in government.

“Atiku has run for the presidency again and again, and Nigerians keep turning him down. They know he is not the solution. He is the problem. He has no ideas,” Hassan said.

He also questioned the source of Atiku’s wealth, alleging that his financial resources had enabled him to sustain repeated presidential campaigns.

Hassan further alleged that the former vice president was selling properties to finance his political ambition, questioning whether he would seek to recover such investments if elected president.

“Public office is not a place to recover political investments. Nigeria’s treasury belongs to the Nigerian people,” he added.

On the North, Hassan challenged Atiku to account for his contributions to the region, particularly in terms of investments and development, during his years in public office.

He said the region deserved more than political declarations and called on its residents to assess the records of those seeking their support.

Making a case for Tinubu’s second-term bid, Hassan highlighted what he described as improvements in the country’s economic indicators, infrastructure, education and social welfare programmes under the current administration.

He cited the Federal Government’s economic presentation to the Federal Executive Council on October 28, which put Nigeria’s second-quarter 2026 economic growth at 4.43 per cent, compared with 2.74 per cent in 2023.

He also listed increased foreign reserves, improved revenue generation and a reduction in debt-servicing obligations as evidence of progress under Tinubu’s economic reforms.

Hassan further cited the disbursement of N372.6bn in student loans to 1.66 million applicants through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, alongside N38.93bn released to 166 public tertiary institutions for infrastructure development.

He also highlighted ongoing federal road projects across Northern Nigeria, including the Kano Northern Bypass, Kano-Katsina Road and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria corridor, as well as interventions in basic education in Kano State.

The APC spokesperson maintained that the administration’s interventions in infrastructure, education and economic reforms provided grounds for Northern Nigerians to support Tinubu’s re-election.