Son of Nigeria’s former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mr Adamu Abubakar, has said his father plans to contest the 2023 presidential election.

“Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with my father contesting for the presidency. In 2023, my father will be aspiring to the number one office in the land because he has been an astute, strategic, master politician for almost four decades,” Abubakar who currently serves as commissioner for works and energy in Adamawa State was quoted saying by the Punch.

He made this known while marking the one-year performance of his ministry under the leadership of Governor Ahmadu Finitiri of Adamawa state.

The commissioner also expressed the possibility of he running for his constituency’s senatorial seat.

Abubakar’s presidential runs

The former vice-president has had five failed presidential runs between 1993 and 2019, switching between four parties. The closest to this record is the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, who had contested for the seat thrice before he won in his fourth attempt.

His first attempt for the presidential ticket was in 1993 under the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) where he came third behind MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in the party primaries.

Mr Abubakar also contested twice for Adamawa governorship seats before he won in his second attempt under the umbrella of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Before his inauguration as governor in 1999, he opted to run as vice-presidential candidate to the former president, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, the seat he occupied for eight years.

Amidst a rift with Mr Obasanjo, Mr Abubakar defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria, got the party’s ticket and took third in the 2007 election behind PDP candidate, Mr Umar Yar’Adua, and the ANPP candidate, Mr Muhammadu Buhari.

He returned to PDP and lost the party’s presidential ticket in 2011 to the then incumbent president, Mr Goodluck Jonathan.

He joined APC in 2014 and lost the party’s ticket to Buhari. Back in PDP, he contested yet again to be president but lost to Buhari.

PT