By Chimdiogo Amuh 

Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said that although former Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains the most qualified aspirant to secure the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket, his greatest service to Nigeria would be to step aside and not contest the 2027 presidential election.

Baba-Ahmed made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on The Morning Show, a breakfast programme aired on Arise News Channel. According to him, Atiku’s decision to withdraw from the race would send a powerful signal of a new political culture and mark a decisive break from the recycling of old political figures in Nigeria’s democratic space.

“And of all those things, it has to be something that Atiku could do. One of them is not to keep insisting that he has to run. And I will give you my reasons,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He described such a move as one entirely within Atiku’s control, noting that it could fundamentally reshape opposition politics and inspire generational renewal ahead of the 2027 polls.

While acknowledging the former vice president’s long political career, Baba-Ahmed maintained that Atiku remains the leading contender within the ADC, owing to his national reach, established political structures, and loyal support base.

“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has the experience, the spread, better structures, and more loyal people, and he understands the mechanics of internal party dynamics better than the others,” he stated.

He added that although the ADC presidential ticket is technically open to all aspirants, it would be extremely difficult for anyone else to clinch it ahead of Atiku.

“The ADC’s ticket is up for grabs, but it will be a very difficult task for anybody to get it other than Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), however, cautioned against any attempt to reserve the ADC ticket for a particular individual, stressing that such an approach would undermine democratic principles.

“Those saying the ticket must be given to a particular individual are going against democratic processes,” he warned.

Despite recognising Atiku’s advantage over other aspirants, Baba-Ahmed reiterated that the former vice president should consider stepping aside in the broader national interest.

“The most important thing that ADC can do, and the single most important commitment that Atiku can make to this country after all his years of labour and striving to build the democratic process, is to decide not to run for president in 2027,” he said.

According to him, such a decision would be a bold and unconventional act capable of convincing Nigerians that the opposition is offering a genuine alternative, rather than another recycled political figure.

“You’ve got to do something that is so dramatically outside the box that Nigerians can sit up and say, ‘ah, these are not just another recycled politician trying to replace Tinubu,’” Baba-Ahmed added.