Atiku Abubakar

About Atiku Abubakar

Vice President Atiku Abubakar served Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was the number two man in the country for eight years. Few Nigerian politicians have held such high office.

But his path to the vice presidency began in Adamawa State. Atiku ran for governor in 1990 and 1996, losing both times. He won the gubernatorial race in 1998. Before he could be sworn in, Obasanjo picked him as running mate for the 1999 presidential election.

The ticket won. Atiku and Obasanjo were re-elected in 2003. Those eight years in office shaped his ambitions for the top job. He believed he had the experience to lead the nation.

In 1993, Atiku entered the Social Democratic Party presidential primaries. Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe beat him. He lost again in 2007 as the Action Congress candidate, coming in third behind Umaru Yar'Adua and Muhammadu Buhari.

The 2011 presidential election saw another defeat. He contested the People's Democratic Party primaries but lost to incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. In 2014, Atiku switched to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 election. Buhari defeated him again in the party primaries.

By 2017, he returned to the Peoples Democratic Party. The 2019 presidential election made him the party's candidate. Muhammadu Buhari won that race too. Atiku had now lost five presidential bids.

In May 2022, the Peoples Democratic Party chose him as their candidate for the 2023 general election. It was his sixth attempt at the presidency. The race would prove challenging once more.

Atiku Abubakar remains one of Nigeria's most persistent political figures. He has built a career in both business and politics. His determination to reach the highest office has defined decades of his life.