ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has made a personal appeal to the Yoruba people for their backing in the 2027 presidential election, stressing his family ties and long-standing relationships in the South-West.
In a statement released on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, by his media consultant, Kola Johnson, Atiku recalled his marriage in the 1970s to Titi, a Yoruba woman from Ijesha, which he said cemented a “genetic bond of a family” with the Yoruba community.
The union produced four children.
“My children with Titi sometimes call me ‘Baba Rere’, meaning good father. I am extremely in love with my children and serve as a good father to them, as I urge every father to do the same to their children,” he said.
Atiku described his Ijesha-born wife as his “Jewel of Inestimable Value” and said the Yoruba had consistently been among his closest friends and allies throughout his political career.
He assured Yoruba voters that if elected president, he would prioritise the South-West’s interests in policy decisions and governance.
“I am naturally a highly detribalized person,” Atiku said.
“Even before I could ever venture into politics, I flowed easily and effortlessly with people of diverse tribes, ethnicity, religion, and whatever sectarian differences.”
Atiku sought to dispel long-standing concerns about ethnic imbalance, rejecting suggestions of Hausa/Fulani dominance under his leadership. “Anyone who knows me will tell you with all sincerity that as a person, I am naturally a highly detribalized person,” he said, describing fears of domination as “absolutely unfounded.”
Atiku, who has run for Nigeria’s presidency several times, is currently leading a coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC). His main opponent in 2027 is expected to be President Bola Tinubu, himself a Yoruba political figure from the South-West.
