Presidential aide Daniel Bwala has stated that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar may never achieve his long-standing ambition of becoming Nigeria’s president, despite years of contesting for the nation’s highest office.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Monday, Bwala—who served as Atiku’s spokesperson during the 2023 presidential election—said it appears the former vice president has run out of viable chances.
“In all honesty, I believe it may not be destined by God for him to become president.
He has done everything within his power, yet he hasn’t succeeded,” Bwala said. “The 2023 election was his best opportunity, and he may never have such a chance again.”
Bwala also dismissed the prospects of a newly proposed opposition coalition comprising Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former APC chieftain Rotimi Amaechi, which aims to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
He criticised the group’s adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform, describing the coalition as lacking a clear ideological direction or credible alternatives to current government policies.
“This coalition of internally displaced politicians has failed to present any alternative facts, policies, or programmes,” Bwala argued. “Even during Peter Obi’s recent interview, he couldn’t clearly counter or oppose the policies we are implementing.”
Bwala further predicted that the alliance would collapse within six months due to internal rivalries and presidential ambitions among its members.
Citing comments made by Labour Party’s 2023 vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, Bwala said, “Datti already identified the looming problem in the coalition—the battle over who will become the presidential candidate. According to him, ‘everybody wants to be president.’”
“Mark my words, within six months, this so-called coalition will crumble. It won’t even be a topic of discussion anymore,” he added.