Daniel Bwala, a presidential aide and former spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 campaign, has cast doubt on the former Vice President’s political future, saying it may never have been destined for him to become Nigeria’s president.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Monday, Bwala said Atiku had exhausted all viable opportunities to win the presidency.
“In all honesty, I have expressed my opinion that it may never have been destined by God for him to be a president in Nigeria because he has done everything he needs to do to be president and he did not win the presidency,” he said.
He described the 2023 general election as Atiku’s best chance, adding, “2023 was the biggest opportunity that my former principal Atiku Abubakar had. He will never have that kind of privilege again.”
Bwala also dismissed the opposition’s attempt to form a unified political front ahead of the 2027 elections. Last week, key opposition figures including Atiku, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and others announced the adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Bwala, who now supports President Tinubu, characterised the group as a “coalition of internally displaced politicians” and criticised them for failing to articulate clear alternatives to current government policies.
“What I still find intriguing is that this coalition… have not been able to summon the courage and come up with alternative facts, alternative policies or alternative programmes,” he said.
Referencing Peter Obi’s recent media appearance, Bwala added, “Throughout the interview you had with Peter Obi, what I find is that he has not been able to counter or to disagree in the real sense of the word with the policies that we are implementing.”
He further predicted that internal conflicts over leadership ambitions would destabilise the coalition before long. “In the next six months, that coalition thing will not even be a conversation — they will scatter,” Bwala said. “The problem of this coalition will be who will be the president because right now… everybody wants to be the president.”
He cited Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Peter Obi’s 2023 running mate, as already acknowledging the challenge of uniting the coalition under a single flagbearer.
