Atiku Abubakar

His Excellency
Atiku Abubakar
Wazirin Adamawa, GCON
Abubakar in 2023
11th Vice President of Nigeria
In office
29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007
PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo
Preceded byMike Akhigbe
Succeeded byGoodluck Jonathan
Personal details
Born (1946-11-25) 25 November 1946 (age 77)
Jada, British Cameroon (now Jada, Adamawa State, Nigeria)
NationalityNigerian
Political partyPeoples Democratic Party (1998–2006; 2007–2014; 2017–present)
Other political
affiliations
Spouses
​
(m. 1971)​
Ladi Yakubu
​
​
(m. 1979, divorced)​
Princess Rukaiyatu Mustafa
​
​
(m. 1983)​
Fatima Shettima
​
(m. 1986)​
Jennifer Iwenjiora Douglas
​
​
(div. 2021)​
Children28
EducationMaster of Arts degree in International Relations
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • businessman
WebsiteOfficial website

Atiku Abubakar GCON ((listenⓘ); born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.[1][2][3] He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State in 1990 and 1996 unsuccessfully, but won in 1998.[4] Before he was sworn in, he was selected as running mate to former military leader, Olusegun Obasanjo, during the 1999 presidential election and was re-elected in 2003.[5][6]

Atiku Abubakar ran unsuccessfully for President of Nigeria six times, in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. He ran in the Social Democratic Party presidential primaries in 1993, but lost to Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe. He was a presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 presidential election coming in third to Umaru Yar'Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. He contested the presidential primaries of the People's Democratic Party during the 2011 presidential election losing out to incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.[7] In 2014, he joined the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2015 presidential election and contested the presidential primaries losing to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017, he returned to the Peoples Democratic Party and was the party presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, again losing to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.[8][9][10]

In May 2022, he was chosen as the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate again, this time for the 2023 general election after he defeated Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State, in the primaries.[11][12][13] He came in second in the general election, being defeated by Bola Tinubu, though Abubakar joined other opposition candidates in demanding a revote.[14][15]

  1. ^ "Profile of Atiku Abubakar: From an only child of a father who opposed western education to a political guru". Nigeria Today. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. ^ Adeosun, Olajumoke (17 July 2019). "Atiku Abubakar - Biography and Life of the 11th Vice President of Nigeria". Entrepreneurs In Nigeria. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Atiku Abubakar - the Nigerian operator who knows how to make money". BBC News. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  4. ^ Agbiti, Chris (22 April 2010). "Atiku Abubakar and his many battles". Vanguard. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Obasanjo chooses northerner as running mate". The New Humanitarian. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ^ Podcast, N. L.; Giveaway, N. L. (25 November 2019). "Happy Birthday!! Atiku Abubakar Celebrates His 73rd Birthday (Drop Your Well Wishes) » Naijaloaded". Naijaloaded. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ Adeosun, Olajumoke (17 July 2019). "Atiku Atiku AbAbubakar - Biography and Life of the 11th Vice President of Nigeria". Entrepreneurs In Nigeria. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Atiku Abubabar Biography". FluentPost. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Atiku emerges PDP presidential candidate". The Punch. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  10. ^ "2023: Where Nigeria's President comes from, not important ― Atiku". Vanguard. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Nigeria opposition picks veteran Abubakar as presidential candidate". Reuters. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Deadlock over Governor Wike as Atiku searches for running mate". Premium Times. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Atiku releases economic agenda, vows to break govt monopoly". The Punch. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  14. ^ Busari, Nimi Princewill,Stephanie (1 March 2023). "Who is Nigeria's new President-elect Bola Tinubu?". CNN.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Winner declared in Nigerian election; rivals demand a revote". Politico. Associated Press. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.