Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, demanding that he publicly disown a statement issued by his aide amid a growing controversy over a private meeting in Minna.
The tension began after Fayose took to social media on Wednesday to claim that Atiku recently met with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to discuss the 2027 presidential race. According to Fayose, Atiku is “70 percent certain” of securing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket and was considering Makinde as his running mate.
Fayose further alleged that Atiku’s camp views former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as unsuitable for a deputy role and unlikely to gain broad acceptance in the North. He also claimed Makinde agreed to join the ADC on the condition of receiving the vice-presidential ticket and offered an initial N10 billion - disbursed in two tranches - to support the party’s “proper take-off,” with additional funding promised as the campaign progresses.
Atiku’s camp quickly dismissed the claims on Thursday as a “shameless concoction” and “beer parlour talk.” In a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president’s team described Fayose’s account as “reckless and malicious fabrication.” The statement stressed that “at no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script,” denying any discussions on vice-presidential tickets, N10 billion contributions, zoning arrangements, or clandestine meetings.
Fayose, however, remained undeterred. On X (formerly Twitter), he expressed amusement at the rebuttal and reaffirmed his challenge to Atiku. “Because of my respect for Atiku, I will want to assume that he did not authorise the press statement, and I will expect that after seeing it, he will within 48 hours cause a rebuttal to be issued. Should Atiku not publicly disown the statement within the next 48 hours, I will have no option but to spill more beans - particularly regarding Wike - and by then, I will be doing so without any atom of respect for him. Till then, we keep our gunpowder dry,” Fayose tweeted.
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