Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has firmly denied reports that he offered to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race to make way for another candidate.
The denial comes from a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, which was issued to counter a BBC Hausa Service report.
The original report suggested that Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had expressed an intention to “step down for younger aspirants.”
Ibe described the report as inaccurate, stating that a full review of the interview’s video and transcript—in both Hausa and English—confirms that Atiku made no such offer.
According to the statement, what Atiku actually communicated was that the political field is open to everyone.
He emphasized that young people and other aspirants are free to contest.
Furthermore, he committed that if a young candidate were to win a competitive primary process, he would fully support that candidate.
The statement criticized the media for engaging in “mischievous” interpretation of his words, warning that such practices are unacceptable.
The clarification concludes by reaffirming Atiku Abubakar’s status as a presidential candidate for the 2027 election and urging journalists to be mindful of how their reporting affects national unity and peace.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
