Former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has claimed that supporters of the late President Muhammadu Buhari received a phone call from his grave urging Nigerians to vote for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election.
Dalung, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the controversial remark on Thursday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He also claimed that former First Lady Aisha Buhari had conveyed a political message to Atiku during a recent visit to his residence in Abuja, suggesting that the late president’s 12 million-vote support base had shifted to the former vice-president.
According to Dalung, the development strengthens Atiku’s chances of defeating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
“We have had a phone call from the grave of Buhari that we should vote Atiku. Therefore, there is much on the ground for them,” he said.
Dalung expresses confidence in Atiku’s chances
The former minister maintained that Atiku possesses the political structure and nationwide network required to challenge Tinubu successfully.
He argued that the former vice-president inherited the political structure of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, describing Atiku as a political product of the former military leader.
Dalung also dismissed the possibility of Tinubu defeating Atiku, even if the President allegedly took control of the ADC national secretariat and prevented the opposition party from campaigning.
“I am as confident as I am as events are unfolding that Tinubu, even if he will take over the ADC secretariat and stop ADC from campaigning, he cannot defeat Atiku Abubakar in 2027,” he said.
He further described Tinubu as a weak president ahead of the next presidential election.
“I have never seen a weak president in an election like Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If you drag anybody on the street and put him on a ballot at a contest with Tinubu, he will defeat him,” Dalung added.
ADC faces leadership crisis
Dalung’s remarks come amid an ongoing leadership crisis within the ADC.
On November 5, the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the Mark-led national leadership of the party and invalidated the process that produced Atiku as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The party has indicated its intention to challenge the judgment.
The unfolding political developments have added another dimension to opposition efforts to consolidate support ahead of the 2027 general election.
Chronicle NG reports that Dalung’s claims about the transfer of Buhari’s political support base and the alleged phone call from the late president’s grave have not been independently established.
