Presidential aide Daniel Bwala has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar may never achieve his long-held ambition of becoming Nigeria’s president.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Bwala said Atiku had exhausted all viable chances to lead the country, particularly highlighting the 2023 presidential election as his most favourable opportunity.
“In all honesty, I have expressed my opinion that it may never have been destined by God for him to be a president in Nigeria because he has done everything he needs to do to be president and he did not win the presidency,” Bwala stated.
He added, “2023 was the biggest opportunity that my former principal Atiku Abubakar had. He will never have that kind of privilege again.”
Bwala, who served as Atiku’s campaign spokesperson in 2023 but has since shifted allegiance to President Bola Tinubu, dismissed the relevance of the newly formed opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The coalition, which includes prominent figures such as Atiku, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi, recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform to challenge the Tinubu-led administration.
Bwala, however, dismissed the initiative, describing it as a gathering of “internally displaced politicians” who lack clear direction and policy alternatives.
“What I still find intriguing is that this coalition… have not been able to summon the courage and come up with alternative facts, alternative policies or alternative programmes,” he said.
He also criticised Peter Obi’s recent media appearance, arguing that the former Anambra State governor failed to meaningfully challenge or propose alternatives to existing government policies.
“Throughout the interview you had with Peter Obi, what I find is that he has not been able to counter or to disagree in the real sense of the word with the policies that we are implementing,” he said.
Bwala predicted that internal rivalry within the coalition, particularly over presidential ambitions, would soon lead to its collapse.
“In the next six months, that coalition thing will not even be a conversation—they will scatter,” he said. “The problem of this coalition will be who will be the president because right now… everybody wants to be the president.”
He also cited recent remarks by Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s 2023 running mate, acknowledging the challenge of uniting the group behind a single candidate.
