The Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has pledged to protect the interests of the Yoruba people if elected Nigeria’s president. He revealed the Yorubas will “occupy a topmost place” in his administration’s policies if elected President in 2027.

According to a statement released through his media consultant, Kola Johnson, on Thursday, Atiku stressed that his marital and personal ties to the Yoruba made such fears baseless. Adding that the Yoruba people are essentially his extended family and in-laws.

He said, “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.

“This is why the Yoruba, whether individually or collectively, have always occupied a special place in my heart.”

He promised that if elected, the South-West would be central to his policymaking.

“Therefore, the fear that my ascension to presidency might lead to Hausa/Fulani domination over Yorubas or other ethnic groups does not only arise, but also is absolutely unfounded because the entire Yoruba stock is my larger extended family and in-laws,” he stated.

The former vice president cited his first marriage to Titi, an Ijesha-born Yoruba woman, whom he married in the 1970s, as proof of his deep-rooted connection to the South-West.

“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,” Atiku declared.

“My children with Titi sometimes call me ‘Baba Rere’, meaning good father. I am extremely in love with my children and serve as a good father to them, as I urge every father to do the same to their children.

He described his Ijesha-born wife as his “Jewel of Inestimable Value” and insisted that the Yoruba had always been among his closest friends and political allies.

“Anyone who knows me will tell you with all sincerity that, as a person, I am naturally a highly detribalized person. Even before I could ever venture into politics, I flowed easily and effortlessly with people of diverse tribes, ethnicity, religion and whatever sectarian differences,” the statement read.