Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has confirmed that he will contest for president in the 2027 general election.

Atiku, who made his position known through his long-time associate and spokesperson during the 2023 elections, Tunde Olusunle, said he remains committed to leading efforts to rescue Nigeria from what he described as a worsening national decline under the present day government.

His declaration came amid speculations that he may not join the race again, following comments credited to Prof. Ola Olateju of Achievers University that suggested that Atiku was now more focused on contributing to Nigeria’s development outside the presidency.

However, Atiku while speaking from his holiday home in the United Arab Emirates, swiftly dismissed Olateju’s remarks, stressing that they were unauthorised.

“When people stand in for me at events, we preview my thoughts on the instant subject. In this particular instance, there was no engagement with me to distil my thoughts. Prof. Olateju was not speaking for me.

I will run in 2027. Nigeria needs to be decisively rescued from the intensive care unit it has been consigned to. The degeneration in our country, the level of poverty and pain, the anguish, is unacceptable,” he declared

Atiku also sought to reassure his supporters and political allies that the opposition coalition on the platform of ADC remained strong and will surprise critics in the next election.

“The accompanying deceit, the loss of values, the mega-scale, unimpeded thievery and the absolute lack of accountability must disturb every concerned patriot. I will be offering myself to lead the reclamation and reconstruction of our traumatised homeland,” Olusunle quoted him as saying after conferring with him.