Atiku reacts to claims that he has quit active politics

By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described a viral claim on the social media that he has quit active politics and will not be participating in the 2027 presidential election as fake news.

Atiku said this in reaction to claim on the social media that he recently held a meeting with members of African Democratic Congress, ADC in Adamawa State where he informed them of his plan to “step aside and retire from active politics.”

But Atiku, in a statement by Paul Ibe, his spokesperson described the claim as entirely false and deliberately misleading.

“The Waziri Adamawa has not in recent times held any such meeting with ADC stakeholders at the national level. The only recent engagement he had was with stakeholders of the ADC in Adamawa State last Thursday,” Ibe said in the statement.

The statement also indicated that Atiku cannot, and would never, communicate as issue as fundamental and consequential as exiting active politics through rumours, faceless sources, or third-party fabrication.

“Such a decision, if ever taken, would be formally conveyed through the Atiku Media Office,” Ibe said.

The former Vice President said the falsehood that he has pulled out from politics “bears all the hallmarks of a coordinated disinformation campaign designed to create confusion, dampen momentum, and mislead the Nigerian public.

“Only the government and its agents could have sponsored this desperate narrative out of fear of what is coming.

“We state without equivocation that this mischief is being driven by anti-democratic elements who are deeply unsettled by the growing national consensus to rescue Nigeria from the failures of the current administration.

“We therefore urge supporters of Atiku Abubakar, members of the ADC, and all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard this fake news in its entirety and remain focused on the collective effort to reclaim and rebuild our nation,” the media office of the former Vice President who has indicated his interest to contest the presidency in 2027 said in the statement.