Atiku Abubakar emerges PDP presidential candidate, 30 years after first bid for presidency

Nigeria’s former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has been making attempts to rule the country since 1992, has emerged candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 presidential election.

He secured 371 of the 763 delegates’ votes to defeat 11 other aspirants at the opposition party’s primary in Abuja on Saturday, May 28, 2022. His closest rival and Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, secured 237 votes, while other aspirants like former Senate President Bukola Saraki polled 70 votes, Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom state governor, polled 38 votes. The only female aspirant in the race Tari Diana Oliver secured one vote while the publisher of Ovation Magazine Dele Momodu did not secure any vote.

Promising to unify the country, which he said the APC government has ‘completely disunited’, Atiku, 75, described himself as a ‘unifier’.

“The reason why I felt unity is very important for us is because the APC government has disunited Nigeria completely, between North and South, East and West, Christians and Muslims,” Atiku said in his acceptance speech at the primary monitored by Neusroom. “I will work to ensure unity and give a sense of belonging to all Nigerians irrespective of their background.”

Insecurity, rising unemployment, police brutality, rising inflation and failing economy are expected to dominate the conversation during the campaign for the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku promised to “deal with our security challenges, and confront economic challenges caused by the APC government.”

The victory makes it the third time Atiku will be on the ballot in a Presidential election since 2007, and the sixth time he will be running for President since 1992.

A timeline of Atiku’s Presidential bid

1992: Atiku first attempted to become President in 1992 but lost the presidential primary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to MKO Abiola.

He came third in the election.

When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, he was elected governor of Adamawa in 1998 but was adopted as running-mate to Olusegun Obasanjo, who was then the PDP’s presidential candidate. The duo won the election and were in office for eight years, 1999-2007, before their fallout over Obasanjo’s alleged attempt to review the constitution to allow him to run for a third term in office while Atiku was also planning to succeed him in 2007.

2007: After their fallout, Atiku ran for President under the Action Congress led by Bola Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos, who is also aspiring to be President in 2023 under the APC.

Atiku came third in the election after weeks of a legal battle that almost stopped him from running.

2011: Atiku lost the PDP’s ticket to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who was completing the term of Umar Yar’Adua, who died in office in May 2010 and was running to remain in office.

2015: Atiku was one of the high-profile personalities who left the PDP to join the APC in 2014 to run against Jonathan, who was seeking reelection. Atiku lost the APC ticket to Buhari.

2019: Atiku returned to PDP in December 2017 and defeated Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, and Rabiu Kwankwaso to win the PDP’s presidential ticket as the party’s candidate in the 2019 presidential election. He lost the election to Buhari, who polled 15 million votes against Atiku’s 11 million votes.

With his emergence as the opposition party’s candidate for the second time in four years, Atiku will face the ruling party’s candidate, who will likely emerge at the primary on June 4, 2022.

Some of the leading candidates in the ruling party include Bola Tinubu a former governor of Lagos state, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi, among many others.