The former vice president’s appeal was denied by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it lacked merit, siding instead with President Bola Tinubu of the APC.
Born in November 1946, Atiku began his five unsuccessful campaigns for the presidency in 2007.
Atiku emerged as the result of political calculation and consultation, succeeding former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was elected on the platform of the PDP following the restoration of democracy in the nation in 1999. Naturally, things did not go according to plan because Atiku, who was very ambitious, and his boss were fighting all the time.
After being spurned by the outgoing president and some PDP members, Atiku sought refuge and joined the now-defunct Action Congress, a group founded and funded exclusively by the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. Atiku emerged as the Action Congress’s presidential candidate, backed by Tinubu’s organization and considerable financial resources.
Remarkably, Obasanjo’s chosen candidate, late President Umaru Yar’adua of the PDP, defeated Atiku in the election. With more than 2.4 million votes, Atiku finished a distant third in the contentious 2007 election that many observers referred to as a sham.
Following his abortive presidential campaign, Atiku left the AC and turned back to the PDP. As anticipated, the lawmaker from Adamawa threw his hat in the ring once more in 2011. Despite being the PDP’s front-runner in the North, he was soundly defeated at Eagle Square in Abuja by former president Goodluck Jonathan, who had the support of Obasanjo and a few other Nigerians.
Atiku and his fellow travelers walked in in 2014, following the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by a coalition consisting of the Congress for Progressives Change, Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria People’s Party, and All Progressives Grand Alliance. In a press release, the former vice president declared his switch from the PDP to the recently established APC.
After joining the APC, Atiku made another presidential declaration a few months later. In the party’s Lagos primary in 2015, Atiku ran for the APC ticket alongside former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and the president-elect Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari, now referred to as “poor,” soundly trounced Atiku and his enormous financial war chest.
Realizing that President Buhari would run for reelection in 2019 through the APC, a guy who was criticized by many Nigerians for being impatient in 2017 left the APC and joined the PDP once more. With force, Atiku obtained the PDP’s presidential ticket for 2019.
Former President Buhari defeated Atiku in the presidential election, with the reluctant support of PDP members. Even though Atiku insisted he had won the poll, he discreetly left for Dubai and dropped the legal battle he was in with his running partner, former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi. They also lost since Buhari’s victory was affirmed by the court.
As was to be expected, Atiku reappeared in the run-up to the 2023 election. In the face of overwhelming odds, he once more became the PDP’s official flag bearer at the convention, which took place in the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
Atiku was defeated by President Tinubu in both the North and the South, with the help of significant northern stakeholders and a few G5 members. Analysts believe President Tinubu would not have won if Atiku, Obi, and the G5 had collaborated with the umbrella party.
In response to a question concerning his desperate desire to become the president of Nigeria, Atiku said he would keep pursuing the position for as long as he lived.
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