ATIKU REJECTED AT HOME: APC Says Son’s Defection Is Final Verdict On Former VP’s Credibility

The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the defection of Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to the ruling party as a devastating blow to the credibility and political relevance of the former presidential candidate.
In a strongly worded press statement issued on January 18, 2026, the party said the younger Atiku’s decision to abandon what it termed the “pretentious ADC contraption” for the APC speaks louder than any political rebuttal his father could offer.
According to the Lagos APC, when a politician’s own son openly rejects his political choices and aligns with an opposing platform, it raises fundamental questions about trust, conviction, and leadership.
Reacting to the development, the Lagos APC Spokesman, Mogaji (Hon.) Seye Oladejo, said the move amounts to a “confession” rather than a coincidence, arguing that it exposes the hollowness of Atiku Abubakar’s long-standing presidential ambition.
“For decades, Nigerians have watched Atiku Abubakar drift ideologically from one party to another—PDP, AC, back to PDP, and now ADC—driven by nothing more than a restless and transactional ambition for power,” Oladejo stated. “His politics has been a nomadic journey in search of any platform willing to indulge that ambition.”
The party maintained that Abubakar Atiku Abubakar’s defection represents a generational rejection of what it called recycled politics, expired ambitions, and leadership without conviction. It further described the move as an endorsement of the APC’s governance record and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Oladejo stressed that leadership credibility begins at home, adding that any political figure who fails to inspire confidence among those closest to him cannot reasonably expect the trust of over 200 million Nigerians.
“When credibility collapses at home, it cannot be rehabilitated in the marketplace of national politics,” he said. “Nigerians are discerning enough to understand this.”
The Lagos APC welcomed the defection, urging Nigerians to “read the political handwriting on the wall,” insisting that the era of political tourism, moral inconsistency, and ambition without ideology is fast losing relevance.
“If Atiku’s son has moved on,” the party declared, “Nigeria certainly should.”