Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old, saying he has evidence to prove the allegation in court.
Atiku made the claim in a BBC interview published on Friday while defending his decision to contest the 2027 presidential election despite concerns about his age.
The former vice-president said he remained physically fit and capable of leading the country, comparing his condition to Tinubu’s.
“I have a president who is 90 years old now, and who is sick. I am healthy; I am strong. So why would I not make my services available to my fellow countrymen?” Atiku asked. “I have evidence that he is 90, and I will present it in court.”
Atiku did not provide the alleged evidence during the interview. Reports on the interview said the claim remained unverified pending the production and independent verification of the evidence he referred to.
The claim is likely to fuel renewed debate over the age and fitness of the two leading figures as the 2027 presidential contest gathers momentum.
Atiku, who lost the 2023 presidential election to Tinubu, also defended his decision to run for president again.
He said repeated attempts to contest political office were not unusual in his political career, recalling that he had contested the governorship four times but was repeatedly disqualified by military authorities during Nigeria’s transition to democratic rule.
“I ran for governor four times, because at that position, the people who were in charge of Nigeria’s transition to democracy were military, and I was so anti-military. Any time I won, they would disqualify me. The last was when there was even an attempt on my life, and I went into exile,” he said.
He said his continued presidential ambition was backed by his experience, competence and patriotism.
“I’ve never found anything easy in my life. There is nothing new there. So, because I’m contesting the presidency two or three times… I mean, that’s not anything unusual in my life — in my political life,” he said.
“I have the experience, I have the competence, I have the patriotism. So why would I not make all this available to the service of my country?”
Atiku’s 2027 candidacy will be his latest attempt to secure the presidency after several unsuccessful bids. He contested under the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019 and 2023, after previously running under the Action Congress in 2007 and the Peoples Democratic Party in 1993.
The ADC candidate also criticized the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity, blaming the persistence of insurgency, banditry, and other security threats on what he described as the “irresponsibility of government”.
He argued that successive governments had failed to provide adequate personnel and resources for the country’s security agencies.
“I remember when we were in office, I told the president that, look, we are over 200 million people and yet we have less than 200,000 policemen,” he said.
Egypt, which has about 80 million people, had one million policemen on the streets. And therefore, there is peace there. Believe me, within one year, we can control this insurgency and insecurity that is all over the place.”
His comments come amid renewed concerns over the country’s worsening security situation. Earlier this week, President Tinubu ordered security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue hundreds of people abducted from a mosque in Niger State, following an attack that reportedly killed at least 30 people and forced thousands to flee.
Atiku said a government he leads would give greater attention to policing and defence as part of efforts to tackle insecurity.
- Badejo-Okusanya Takes Over as 33rd NBA President - August 29, 2026
- NPC Chairman Aminu Yusuf Dies 8 Months Into Tenure - August 29, 2026
- Police Officer Allegedly Shoots Driver Dead, 3 Injured in Port Harcourt - August 29, 2026