Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said no northern political figure commands more votes in the region than he does.
Abubakar spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme.
He compared his political influence with that of Rabiu Kwankwaso, Nasir El-Rufai, and Aminu Tambuwal.
According to him, none of the politicians he mentioned has garnered the level of electoral support he has secured over the years.
“I’m more popular than all of them. Can you tell me among the current leaders in the North who has secured more votes than I have? You are talking of people like Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, and El-Rufai; none of them has garnered the kind of bloc votes that I have,” he said.
Also, the former Vice President argued that Mr Kwankwaso’s electoral strength is largely limited to Kano State, noting that the support base is now divided between him and the incumbent governor, Abba Yusuf.
“Kwankwaso only got votes from Kano, and we respect that, that is why he is a leader in the coalition. But even Kano itself is now split between him and his own governor,” he added.
However, Atiku noted that the emerging political coalition represents a new direction for the country, bringing together both experienced politicians and younger actors under a unified platform.
“What makes it different this time is that we now have a broad coalition, from APC, PDP, NNPP, and Labour. That has never happened before,” he said, adding that the alliance reflects what he described as a clear succession pattern ahead of 2027.
