2027 Presidential Election: I Am Not Stepping Down For Obi, Amaechi, Anyone – Atiku Clarifies Viral Report
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the former Vice President and former aspirant under the people democracy party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed the report implying that he intends to abandon his presidential ambition for another presidential aspirant, under the umbrella of African Democratic Congress, ADC.
OTN News further reports that the ex-vice president media adviser, Paul Ibe, who disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday, dismissed the report that gave the fake information as a misrepresentation of his master earlier interview with BBC Hausa.
OTN News recalls that Atiku was earlier reported to have declared his willingness to step down for a younger, vibrant and more acceptable candidate on the platform of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, ADC, during an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday.
However, the former vice president reacting this news via his media adviser said, Atiku said neither the video nor the transcript of the interview implied or suggested that he plans to step down for anyone.
According to the statement, after a thorough review of both the video and transcripts of the interview, in the original Hausa and the English translation, it is evident that at no point did the former Vice President expressly state, suggest, or even imply that he intends to step down for anyone.
“What Atiku Abubakar clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest. He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation.
“While interpretative journalism is a legitimate aspect of reporting, stretching interpretation to the point of mischief is unacceptable and must not be encouraged.
“For the record, therefore, the insinuations attributed to Waziri Adamawa from his BBC Hausa interview are inaccurate and do not reflect what he actually said.” the statement added.
OTN News, however, recalls that Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Obi are younger presidential aspirants who have also showed interest in All Democratic Congress (ADC) ticket.
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