Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed that he personally blocked President Bola Tinubu from becoming his running mate years before their political rivalry deepened, citing his opposition to a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. Atiku made the revelation in a Hausa-language video interview shared on X, detailing the events that followed his emergence as a presidential candidate.
How Tinubu's Bid to Join Atiku's Ticket Failed
According to Atiku, Tinubu had initially promised to back him for the presidential ticket. After he secured it, five emissaries arrived at his door—among them Tom Ikimi and Bisi Akande—to convey Tinubu's interest in the running mate position, Daily Trust reports.
"They told me that Tinubu wanted to be my running mate. I told them that, as Christians they should understand that it was inappropriate for me to pick a Muslim as my running mate," Atiku said. "I told them that I could not accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket, because it would not be of the best interest of our country."
The rejection ended their alliance. Tinubu subsequently threw his weight behind the late President Umaru Musa Yar'adua, and the two men did not find themselves in the same political camp again until the 2014 campaign season.
Atiku's Condition Before Supporting Buhari
Atiku said that after the 2014 convention, the late President Muhammadu Buhari visited him at his Abuja residence to seek his support for the general election, having already won the primary. "I gave him one condition because I learnt that Tinubu wanted Buhari to pick him as his running mate. I assured him I will support on the condition that he will not do Muslim-Muslim ticket. After about five minutes of thought, he assured me he would not."
Once word of that agreement reached Tinubu's camp, Atiku said his emissaries went back to Buhari to ask about the running mate promise they had earlier reached. Tinubu, he said, was furious at what he considered a broken commitment.
Tinubu then reportedly proposed that Buhari choose his wife as a Christian alternative, but Buhari reportedly refused to work with a female running mate. Religious leaders were eventually drawn into the standoff before Tinubu put forward Yemi Osinbajo, who was serving as his Attorney-General in Lagos and is a Christian. Buhari accepted the nomination.
Impact and Broader Context
The account offers a rare first-hand narrative of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that shaped Nigerian presidential politics across multiple election cycles, and sheds new light on the personal and political friction between Atiku and Tinubu that has spanned more than two decades.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Atiku had condemned the worsening security situation in Nigeria following the reported death of former House of Representatives member, Abba Anas Adamu, who allegedly died while in captivity after being abducted by bandits along the Kaduna-Abuja highway. Adamu was said to have been kidnapped on May 3, 2026, and reportedly died nine days later despite efforts by his family to secure his release from the abductors.
