Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has taken a sharp swipe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his prolonged pursuit of the nation’s highest office.
In a piece titled “The Seventh Bid of Waziri,” Fani-Kayode highlighted that Atiku has spent 33 years attempting to become president of Nigeria. He described the former vice president’s repeated efforts as surprising, noting that Atiku has now embarked on his seventh bid.
Fani-Kayode traced Atiku’s political journey, beginning with his contest in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential primary in 1993. He went on to run under the Action Congress in the 2007 election, participated in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary in 2011, contested the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in 2015, and served as the PDP’s presidential candidate in both 2019 and 2023.
The former Minister of Aviation also referenced Atiku’s past political differences with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Atiku is currently the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election, with former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.
“In a country of 230 million people one man has been trying to be President for 33 years, has failed each time, and is now attempting it again for the 7th time,” Fani-Kayode wrote.