Former vice president Atiku Abubakar is the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) nominee for president in the 2023 election. The Adamawa-born politician is not new to elections.
He ran for and won the Adamawa governorship election prior to being chosen as Olusegun Obasanjo’s running partner in 1999. This is the only election he has ever won in his whole life.
Due to pressure, Atiku Abubakar was unable to run for president in 2007 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform due to the toxic relationship he had with his principal, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Recall that in 1993, Atiku Abubakar ran for president in the Social Democratic Party primaries but was defeated by Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe.
He broke with the ruling party, forged a coalition with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the departing governor of Lagos state, and ran for president of Nigeria in 2007 on the Action Congress of Nigeria platform (ACN).
Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), received 6,605,299 votes, while Musa Yaradua, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), received 2,637,848 votes.
In 2011, Atiku ran against President Goodluck Jonathan in the PDP presidential primary and came in last. After leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2014, Atiku ran in the APC presidential primary elections in 2015. He ultimately lost the nomination to Muhammadu Buhari.
In preparation for the 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2017. He ran as the party’s presidential candidate but was defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in office.
Five times, Atiku Abubakar ran for president of Nigeria, but none of his bids were successful. Once more, the politician from Adamawa has won the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential nomination (PDP).
Along with Peter Obi, his running mate in the 2019 presidential election and candidate for the Labour Party, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, he will compete as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku Abubakar will run for the nation’s top office for the sixth time this year. Due to ongoing instability, setbacks, economic hardship, and other factors, there is a chance that Atiku Abubakar won’t win the election, regardless of how good a victory it may seem.
In truth, these losses are predicted to improve Atiku’s performance in the election, but there are a few things that could prevent him from winning.
This reporter looked into previous election results and found that Atiku appeared to be despised by the majority of Northerners. Atiku Abubakar received 2.7 million votes in 2007 while running as an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, with the majority of those votes coming from the South West.
The majority of votes cast for Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu in the 2019 election came from the South-West, South-East, and South-South. He only succeeded in winning two North-Eastern states: Taraba and Adamawa. Considering his level and caliber, his performance in the North was incredibly poor.
In the South-East, the Peoples Democratic Party’s home region, a third force has formed. According to reports, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar’s running partner in the 2019 election, will benefit from the emergence of the third force. Peter Obi, an Anambra State native, is anticipated to receive votes in the South-East and South-South, which could damage the Peoples Democratic Party’s chances of winning (PDP).
Atiku Abubakar and Kashim Shettima both hail from the same state and geographic area as Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Muslim-Muslim ticket is predicted to receive a sizable number of votes in the core North, particularly in the North-West, and it is thought that he would not let Atiku win with a landslide.
Undoubtedly, Atiku Abubakar will take third-place finisher Peter Obi’s blunts.
But Atiku has an advantage over Tinubu, his main rival. Some Nigerians think that the APC-led government only has the might of a man, but a small girl’s will. Many people are quite concerned about the rise in security challenges, which include banditry, terrorist acts, and kidnappings.
Hunger, high inflation, and a low level of living. These are the political advantages Atiku enjoys over the ruling party nominee.
It’s possible that the never-ending internal conflict between Atiku Abubakar, Iyorchia Ayu, and several PDP governors may stymie his chances of winning.
The G-5 and other party leaders are clamoring for the Peoples Democratic Party chairman to step down so a Southerner can take his position. They do not want a northerner to be elected as the party’s nominee while another northerner leads the major opposition party.
Will Atiku be able to realize his long-held goal in 2023, given the emergence of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as a third force in the South-East, the squabbles between Atiku and some PDP governors, and the political history of poor support from the core North?