Atiku reacts to son’s defection to APC

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has responded to the decision of his son, Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, popularly known as Abba, to defect from the opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abba was formally received into the APC on Thursday at the National Assembly Complex by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside other party leaders from the North-East.

At the event, Abba announced his resignation from his former political party and declared full alignment with the APC, describing the move as both personal and historic. He also directed members and coordinators of the political organisation he founded in 2022—formerly known as the Haske Atiku Organisation—to join the APC and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“My name is Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, but everyone calls me Abba. I am here to formally announce my exit from my former party and my decision to join the APC,” he said, adding that he would work with Senator Barau to support President Tinubu’s second-term bid in 2027.

Reacting later on Thursday night, Atiku Abubakar, now a presidential hopeful of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said his son’s decision was a personal choice.

“The decision of my son, Abba Abubakar, to join the APC is entirely personal. In a democracy, such choices are neither unusual nor alarming, even when family and politics intersect,” Atiku said.

He stressed that he does not compel his children—or Nigerians—to adopt his political views.

“As a democrat, I do not coerce my own children in matters of conscience, and I certainly will not coerce Nigerians,” he said.

Atiku, however, criticised the ruling party’s performance, expressing concern over what he described as poor governance and the economic and social hardships faced by Nigerians under the APC administration.

“I remain resolute in working with like-minded patriots to restore good governance and offer Nigerians a credible alternative that brings relief, hope and progress,” he added.