Former vice president Atiku Abubakar is unhappy over former president Goodluck Jonathan’s plot to join the coalition party, African Democratic Congress (ADC).
According to reports, vice president Atiku Abubakar had planned picking his ADC membership card this week but appear to have placed the move on hold due Goodluck Jonathan’s reported interest in the ADC 2027 presidential ticket.
According to sources, Atiku Abubakar had considered himself better placed to win the ADC presidential primary election over Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi. However, with Jonathan joining the ADC, Atiku Abubakar’s camp perceive that their chances might be slim against the former president.
Hence, Atiku Abubakar would not want to go into presidential ticket contest with Goodluck Jonathan and considers joining another party if Goodluck Jonathan reaches a favourable agreement with the ADC party leaders.
Atiku Abubakar sees 2027 as his best chance to ascend to the presidential seat after several failed attempts.
The former vice president will be 80 years in 2027 and will be 84 by 2031 when in the unwritten rotational presidency between the Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria, the north is expected to produce the president of the country.
Sources claim that Atiku Abubakar detest the idea of Goodluck Jonathan joining the ADC and would prefer meeting him in a presidential election rather than intra-party election. According to the source, the former vice president is still haunted by the events that played out in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2014 when Goodluck Jonathan reneged on his agreement with the party’s leadership.
Goodluck Jonathan had in 2011 after completing the tenure of his deceased principal, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua promised to only go for a single tenure. In 2014, ahead of the 2015 general elections, Goodluck Jonathan made a U-turn and declared to contest for reelection in 2015.
His decision to seek reelection was perceived by Atiku Abubakar who thought that he would fly the party’s presidential flag in 2015, as a betrayal. He thereafter left the PDP and joined the coalition party –All Progressive Congress (APC) where he was beaten to the coalition party’s presidential ticket by late Muhammadu Buhari.
Atiku Abubakar’s camp had promised a four year single tenure persuading 2027 presidential hopeful, Peter Obi to drop his ambition and become Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.
While Goodluck Jonathan’s rumoured interest in the 2027 presidential election has received mixed reactions from Nigerians, his political legacy having served as president from 2009-2015 and limited constitutionally to a single tenure, places him in a good position to contend with his fellow southerner, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
Though ADC has become the major opposition party against the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), the prominent members of the party with presidential ambition, appear to be unsettling the coalition.
While reports claim the ADC is the primary interest of Goodluck Jonathan, he has not ruled out the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) whose leadership have openly appealed to the former president, offering him the party’s presidential ticket for 2027.
Also, with Peter Obi regaining the Labour Party’s structure, the former president who has maintained a long-standing commendable relationship with with Peter Obi, might consider the Labour Party as a viable alternative.
Leave a Reply