Former presidential adviser on political matters to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has advised that the most strategic move for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking in an interview with AriseNews on Thursday, monitored by The News Chronicle, Baba-Ahmed, acting in the role of a political ADC, emphasized that Atiku’s participation could leave former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi stranded and weaken the opposition’s collective strength.
He further stressed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) faces a critical challenge: while it can rally politicians to its side, that does not automatically guarantee victory in 2027. Baba-Ahmed described this overreliance on political maneuvering as a “fundamentally flawed strategy.”
“The APC strategy is fundamentally flawed,” he warned.
From an advisory standpoint, Baba-Ahmed accused the opposition of a lukewarm approach to tackling Nigeria’s pressing national challenges. “APC is more focused on 2027 than governing, and no one is genuinely looking after the country,” he said.
He added that the ruling party is under pressure not just in the North, but across the country, while lamenting the lack of intervention in the South West for internally displaced persons affected by insecurity.
Baba-Ahmed’s assessment reads like a military briefing: strategic patience, careful positioning, and attention to the people’s needs are paramount lessons he believes both the APC and opposition must heed ahead of 2027.
