Senator Adams Oshiomhole, the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has publicly questioned the capacity of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to govern Nigeria, arguing that his repeated failures to stabilize his own party render him unfit to lead the country.
Oshiomhole, the lawmaker representing Edo North, made the critical remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today, just hours after Atiku formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a move signaling his intent to contest the 2027 general elections on a new platform.
The APC chieftain criticized Atiku’s inability to offer lasting leadership within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite his long-standing status within the opposition. Oshiomhole challenged Atiku’s credibility to national leadership, asking: “If Atiku as a former vice president under PDP could not fix PDP, he could not reconstruct it, he could not provide leadership and use his influence which he had built, how can you lay claim to fix Nigeria?”
Atiku confirmed his defection through a post on X, sharing a photo of himself holding his ADC membership card with the caption: “It’s official.”
Oshiomhole, reacting to the switch, also revisited Atiku’s earlier departure from the APC, claiming the former vice president left the ruling party solely because he failed to secure its presidential ticket.
“He was once a member of the APC. He left because he lost the party’s presidential ticket,” the senator said. “He went back to the PDP. He’s so much in love with the PDP at least for the purpose of contesting election. He could not build PDP. So, if Atiku can’t build PDP that made him Vice President, he can’t fix Nigeria,” Oshiomhole stated.