Former Sports Minister says Atiku has inherited the political structures of Buhari and Yar’Adua, insists Tinubu cannot defeat the ADC presidential candidate in 2027.

Former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, has stirred political controversy after claiming that supporters of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) received what he described as a phone call from the grave of former President Muhammadu Buhari, urging them to support Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election.

Dalung, a chieftain of the ADC, made the provocative remark on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the growing political realignments ahead of the next general election.

He linked his claim to the recent visit by Buhari’s widow, Aisha Buhari, to Atiku in Abuja, suggesting that the meeting carried a significant political message about the transfer of support previously associated with the late president.

“Last month, you saw when the wife of the late president visited Atiku in Abuja. The message she took for any politician to know is that the 12 million votes have been successfully transferred. We have had a phone call from the grave of Buhari that we should vote Atiku,” Dalung said.

The former minister argued that Atiku was increasingly becoming the beneficiary of political structures and support networks previously associated with Buhari and former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

According to him, the combination of these political networks gives the former vice-president a formidable nationwide structure capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Dalung also expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would struggle to secure re-election, insisting that Atiku would remain a difficult opponent regardless of the challenges facing the opposition.

He went as far as suggesting that even if the ruling party prevented the ADC from campaigning by taking over its national secretariat, such a move would not guarantee Tinubu's victory.

“I am confident that as events are unfolding, Tinubu, even if he would take over the ADC secretariat and stop ADC from campaigning, he cannot defeat Atiku Abubakar in 2027,” he declared.

Dalung further questioned Tinubu’s political strength ahead of the election, describing the President as unusually weak for an incumbent preparing to seek another term.

“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,” he said.

His comments come amid increasing political manoeuvres and opposition realignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with political parties and their leading figures positioning themselves for what is expected to be a fiercely contested presidential race.

However, Dalung’s claims about the transfer of Buhari’s political support and the alleged message from the late president were presented as his personal political assertions and have not been independently established.