By Ghazali Ibrahim
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has claimed that the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s political support base has shifted to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Dalung, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the claim during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
He linked the alleged political realignment to a visit by former First Lady Aisha Buhari to Atiku’s residence in Abuja, claiming that she conveyed a message about the transfer of Buhari’s 12 million votes to the former vice-president.
According to Dalung, the visit was a political indication that supporters of the late president were prepared to support Atiku in the next general election.
He said, “And then that, of the General Muhammadu Buhari’s 12 million votes, of course, last month or thereabouts, you saw when the wife of the late president visited Atiku in his residence in Abuja, the message she took was for any politician to know, is that the 12 million votes have been successfully transferred.”
He added, “We have had a phone call from the grave of Buhari that we should vote Atiku.”
The former minister’s remarks came as opposition figures continue to explore political alliances and strategies ahead of the 2027 general election.
Dalung also expressed confidence in Atiku’s political structure, arguing that the former vice-president had a nationwide political network inherited from the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
He maintained that President Bola Tinubu would struggle to defeat Atiku in 2027, even if the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) prevented the ADC from carrying out its campaign activities.
Atiku’s meeting with Aisha Buhari was publicly disclosed by the former vice-president in September 2026.
However, neither Atiku nor the former First Lady publicly confirmed that the meeting involved an endorsement or an agreement to transfer Buhari’s supporters to the ADC.
