Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has launched a fresh attack on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 presidential ambition, describing his latest bid for the presidency as the culmination of a 33-year political quest.
Fani-Kayode made the claims in a statement titled “The Seventh Bid of Waziri,” published on Sunday, September 27, 2026. He questioned Atiku’s repeated presidential contests, movement between political parties and political relationships with former leaders.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, has indeed contested presidential primaries or elections on several occasions. The ADC has confirmed his nomination alongside former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.
Fani-Kayode listed Atiku’s 1993 SDP primary contest, his 2007 Action Congress presidential run, his 2011 PDP primary defeat, his 2015 APC primary defeat, and his 2019 and 2023 presidential contests. He described the 2027 contest as Atiku’s seventh attempt.
“Atiku has failed in all of his six attempts over the last 33 years and he is now on his seventh,” Fani-Kayode said, arguing that Atiku’s prolonged pursuit of the presidency was evidence of what he described as an “obsession.”
He also criticised Atiku’s movement across political parties, listing the SDP, UNCP, PDP, AC, ACN, APC and ADC, and accused the former Vice-President of treating political parties primarily as vehicles for his presidential ambitions.
“Given this it is fair to say that he is a political wanderer,” Fani-Kayode stated.
FANI-KAYODE RECALLS ATIKU-OBASANJO CLASH
The former minister devoted a substantial part of his statement to the bitter political relationship between Atiku and former President Olusegun Obasanjo during their years in government.
Fani-Kayode alleged that Atiku attempted to mobilise PDP governors against Obasanjo during the 2003 presidential election cycle, claiming that the former Vice-President wanted to replace his principal as the party’s presidential candidate.
He further alleged that the disagreement later became so intense that he personally demanded Atiku’s removal from Federal Executive Council meetings on two occasions while serving as Aviation Minister.
“Atiku betrayed Obasanjo to such a point that I, as Minister of Aviation at the time, was constrained to demand that he should be thrown out of Cabinet meetings on two separate occasions during full sessions of Cabinet,” he said.
According to Fani-Kayode, Obasanjo intervened during the first confrontation but allegedly compelled Atiku to apologise to members of the Federal Executive Council after a subsequent confrontation.
“Atiku apologised there and then to the entire cabinet and consequently was allowed to stay at the Federal Executive Council meeting, but he NEVER attended another cabinet meeting after that,” he alleged.
These claims are Fani-Kayode’s account of events from the Obasanjo administration and are presented as such; the statement does not provide independent documentary evidence for the allegations.
‘ATIKU HAS NO RESPECT FOR POWER ROTATION’
Fani-Kayode also attacked Atiku over the long-running political debate concerning rotation of the presidency between Nigeria’s North and South.
He accused the former Vice-President of opposing southern aspirations and cited his political contests against Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, his participation in the opposition coalition that defeated Jonathan’s government in 2015, his emergence as PDP candidate in 2022 and his 2023 contest against Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi.
“Clearly he has contempt for Southern aspirations,” Fani-Kayode alleged.
He went further, describing Atiku’s political outlook as sectional rather than national and claiming that this was one reason he believed Atiku would not achieve his presidential ambition.
The accusation comes as Atiku campaigns on the ADC platform for the 2027 election, while the debate over zoning, rotation and regional representation remains a major feature of Nigeria’s opposition politics.
SUBSIDY PROMISE ALSO UNDER FIRE
Fani-Kayode also criticised Atiku’s pledge to restore petrol subsidy if elected president.
Atiku has publicly reaffirmed that position, saying his stance on subsidy has not changed and arguing that Nigerians have experienced hardship since the policy was removed.
But Fani-Kayode described the proposal as irresponsible, alleging that it was motivated by electoral considerations.
“Worse still, as presidential candidate of the ADC, he has said he will restore the oil subsidy just to get votes,” he alleged.
Atiku, however, has offered a different justification, saying a targeted subsidy would help reduce energy and transportation costs and ease pressure on households.
CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS
Fani-Kayode further revived several corruption allegations that have previously been associated with Atiku, including claims surrounding the Mambilla power project, Siemens, Halliburton, INTELS, the William Jefferson case and other alleged offshore transactions.
He acknowledged, however, that the allegations he referenced had not resulted in a Nigerian trial or conviction against Atiku.
“To be fair none of these cases have, at least so far, resulted in a Nigerian trial or conviction,” he said, while maintaining that they had generated what he described as unanswered questions.
The distinction is significant because allegations of wrongdoing should not be treated as established criminal findings without a conviction or other authoritative determination.
‘ATIKU HAS SPLIT TWO PARTIES’
Fani-Kayode also accused Atiku of contributing to divisions within the PDP and the ADC as he pursued his presidential ambition.
He alleged that the former Vice-President’s political style had repeatedly produced divisions whenever his presidential aspirations conflicted with other interests within a party.
“Anytime he does not get his way or his ambition to become the flagbearer of whichever party he is in is threatened, the party must be broken,” Fani-Kayode alleged.
He particularly referenced the political divisions surrounding the PDP and the ADC, including the emergence of a separate political platform involving supporters of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
‘HISTORY IS AGAINST YOU’
Fani-Kayode concluded his broadside by comparing Atiku with Senegalese former President Abdoulaye Wade, who contested his country’s presidency multiple times before eventually winning.
He argued that Atiku could not be compared with Wade and dismissed the possibility of Atiku eventually succeeding after repeated presidential attempts.
“History is against you Waziri,” he declared.
Fani-Kayode then made his own prediction about the 2027 election, saying Atiku would be defeated and would subsequently retire from active politics.
“This will be proved in January 2027 when you will be defeated by your old friend and arch-nemesis and be compelled to go back to Dubai and retire in peace,” he said.
The 2027 election, however, remains a future contest, and Fani-Kayode’s prediction is his political assessment rather than an established electoral outcome.
The statement ended with an apparent softening of his otherwise combative message: “I come in peace, Waziri, and I wish you well.”
