Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has assured the Yoruba nation that their interests would be central to his administration if elected president in 2027.

Atiku, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 general election, dismissed concerns that his presidency might favour his Fulani kinsmen, stressing that such fears were “absolutely unfounded.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media consultant, Kola Johnson, the former vice president highlighted his marital and personal ties to the Yoruba as proof of his deep-rooted bond with the South-West.

 “I count myself extremely lucky indeed to have had a wife from amongst this noble species of the human race, which by this token implies that the bond uniting me together with the Yoruba is aptly like the genetic bond of a family,” Atiku said.

“This is why the Yoruba, whether individually or collectively, have always occupied a special place in my heart. The interest of the Yorubas will always occupy a topmost place in my policy making and governance if, by the special grace of Allah, I am lucky to be president in 2027.”

Atiku recalled that his first marriage in the 1970s was to Titi, an Ijesha-born Yoruba woman, with whom he has four children.

“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the ’70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old and we are still together. My children with Titi sometimes call me ‘Baba Rere,’ meaning good father,” he noted.

Describing her as his “Jewel of Inestimable Value,” Atiku said his Yoruba ties extend beyond family to include close friendships and political alliances, adding that he has always been “a highly detribalised Nigerian.”

Atiku, a perennial presidential contender since the early 1990s, came second to President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 polls.

The South-West, predominantly Yoruba, remains one of Nigeria’s most politically decisive regions, often shaping the balance of power between northern and southern candidates.