He’s run for Nigeria’s presidency almost as many times as Nigeria has held democratic elections since 1999. Six tries, six flameouts. Yet Atiku Abubakar, the indefatigable former vice president, is back on the starting block, again.
But this time, the question is not whether he’ll run, it’s who will pay for the privilege.Atiku is rich. Of course, he is. A man who once helmed Nigeria’s customs and built a sprawling logistics empire doesn’t come cheap. But even for a wealthy septuagenarian with a vault of political IOUs, financing a Nigerian presidential campaign in 2027 is no solo sport.
In 2023, insiders whispered that former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was not just Atiku’s running mate but also one of the financial contributors. With Okowa’s clout dimmed and governors defecting faster than umbrellas in a harmattan storm, the PDP looks more like a drying river than a party with presidential ambitions.