Former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has advised the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to drop his 2027 presidential ambition because he would be too old to serve the country as a president.
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos on Wednesday, George said Atiku is 77 years old now and would be 81 by 2027, adding that Nigerians don’t need an old man to lead them again.
He asked the former Vice President to support a southern candidate in 2027, saying that the South has to complete their eight years in office before power can return to the North in 2031.
The PDP chieftain said Atiku and Northern politicians nursing ambition to fly the flag of the party in 2027 should stop putting their political ambition ahead of the party’s best interest.
He said it was really about time these people realized that they have a duty to party that is greater than their personal leadership ambitions.
“In 2027, I can’t tell Atiku not to contest but our party must be definitive and definitively state that the presidency must still be in the south. General Muhammadu Buhari spent eight years and he is from the North,” George said.
“Our party must produce its own presidential candidate from the South. I hope we learned something from the 2023 general election. Atiku’s ambition is not greater than the national ambition and national interest of our country.
“I heard someone saying they want to form a mega party to win the presidency. Which mega party do you think you can spin and you will deliver into the basket? Do you know how long it takes to have a solid party?
“Age also has caught up with some and you can see the way they are talking and telling President Joe Biden of the US to take a good rest because he is already 82 years old. He wants to go for another four years and he will be the oldest president that has ever ruled in America.
“My brother Atiku Abubakar was 77 years old last year and by 2027 he will be 81 years. Atiku should be in a situation where he plays like the big uncle in the room or the elder in the room.
“What would anybody carry me now to do because I’m heading to 80 years and I want to go and be minister, to do what? Let’s mentor the younger generation and let’s be consistent with our strong belief in our party norms,” he said.
