By Abubakar Yunusa
The Arewa Citizens Parliament(ACP ),has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of weakening Nigeria’s opposition politics through what it described as his endless presidential ambition.
The group said Atiku’s continued dominance of opposition coalition efforts had created divisions, distrust and instability ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Leader, Hon. Saidu Jibrin, the group alleged that the former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate had become an indirect political asset to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Jibrin said Atiku had spent nearly three decades in “permanent presidential mode,” moving across political parties and shaping alliances around his personal ambition.
According to him, Nigerians expected opposition leaders to put aside personal interests and build a united front against the ruling All Progressives Congress, but the political space was once again being dominated by “control, entitlement and personal ambition.”
He said, “The painful truth is that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has gradually transformed from an opposition figure into President Bola Tinubu’s most valuable indirect political ally.
“Every election cycle follows the same pattern. Coalition talks begin, Nigerians raise hopes for a formidable alternative, and then Atiku arrives at the centre of the arrangement with the determination to dominate and personalise the entire process around his lifelong presidential project.”
The ACP said the outcome had always been internal crisis, weakened alliances and electoral defeat for the opposition.
The group recalled that internal divisions within the PDP before the 2023 elections contributed to the party’s defeat and warned that similar mistakes could threaten opposition coalition efforts ahead of 2027.
The ACP also expressed concern over what it described as the recycling of old political figures in Northern Nigeria while younger leaders were denied opportunities to emerge.
Jibrin said the North was currently battling terrorism, poverty, unemployment, drug abuse and collapsing agriculture, stressing that political discussions should focus on solving those challenges rather than another presidential ambition project.
“The North today faces existential crises ranging from insecurity to mass poverty and hopelessness among young people. Yet the political conversation is once again being dragged backward into another endless Atiku presidential project,” he said.
The group called on opposition politicians, civil society organisations and youth groups to reject politics driven by personal ambition and embrace what it described as a new generation of leadership built on sacrifice, inclusion and collective national interest.
It warned that if the opposition enters the 2027 elections divided and consumed by internal battles, President Tinubu’s path to re-election could become easier.
