Abubakar “Abba” Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), pledging support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Abba formally announced his defection on Thursday at the National Assembly in Abuja, where he was received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside other senior APC figures from the North-East.
The move is widely viewed as both symbolic and strategic, dealing a setback to the opposition PDP while strengthening the APC’s position in the North-East geopolitical zone, where Atiku Abubakar has traditionally wielded considerable political influence.
Atiku Abubakar served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and has remained one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures since leaving office. A serial presidential contender, he has contested the presidency six times across different parties and was the PDP’s flagbearer in the 2019 and 2023 elections, losing both times to candidates of the APC.
Abba, in a statement announcing his resignation from the PDP, described his defection as “historic and deeply personal.” He also directed members and coordinators of his political platform, the Haske Atiku Organisation—founded in 2022—to immediately defect to the APC and mobilise support for President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Today, I am here to formally announce my exit from my former party to the APC,” he said. “I will work with Senator Barau to actualise the second-term bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.”
Welcoming the defection, the APC National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, described the move as evidence of “politics without borders,” attributing it to the appeal of the Tinubu administration’s policies and reform agenda.
Senator Barau hailed Abba’s decision as “bold, wise, and principled,” noting that he had closely observed President Tinubu’s economic and political reforms while abroad before deciding to return to Nigeria and align with the ruling party.
“You have made this decision based on ideology,” Barau said. “You came because you believe in President Tinubu, his leadership, and the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
President Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and long-time political strategist, won the 2023 presidential election under the APC platform and has since pursued a reform agenda anchored on subsidy removal, exchange rate liberalisation, and fiscal restructuring policies that have drawn both praise and criticism.
The defection underscores shifting political alignments ahead of the 2027 general election, as the APC seeks to consolidate power and the opposition grapples with internal divisions and high-profile defections that could reshape Nigeria’s political landscape.
