Segun Sowunmi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of being disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Nigerians, saying he suffers from what he described as an “Emir complex”.
Sowunmi made the remarks during an interview on Vanguard’s Politics Hub, while assessing President Bola Tinubu’s chances of re-election in 2027 and responding to opposition leaders who argue that the contest will be between the ruling APC and Nigerians, regardless of the number of governors backing the president.
The APC chieftain questioned the credibility of opposition figures, including Atiku and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, to speak for Nigerians grappling with poverty, given their long years in public office.
He said Amaechi had spent much of his political career in government before recently positioning himself as a voice against poverty in the country.
“The opposition that all of their lives, they have just been eating from both sides of their mouths like Rotimi Amaechi, who spent the last 24 years, minus the time that they asked him to go and sit down somewhere; he has been in government, and suddenly Rotimi is the epitome that’s going to tell you that there’s poverty in Nigeria?” he asked.
Sowunmi also questioned Atiku’s ability to understand the experiences of poor Nigerians, pointing to his time as vice president under former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007 and his public profile.
“Up till today, Atiku was vice president 1999 to 2007, that’s when he stopped his vice presidency,” he said.
Describing what he called an “Emir complex”, Sowunmi argued that Atiku’s lifestyle and public demeanour made it difficult for him to empathise with people struggling to make ends meet.
“Up till today, have you seen vice president that goes around the way Atiku is going around with convoy, in terms of his panache, Atiku is suffering from what you call an Emir complex,” he said.
Explaining the phrase, Sowunmi said it referred to a powerful figure accustomed to being treated with deference by people around him.
“You know what an Emir complex is? That big man that everybody will just come and say, ‘Dan labayi; ranka dede;’ or an oba complex,” he said.
He added that Atiku was not qualified to present himself as a champion of the poor.
“So he has no capacity to know or empathise with the poor. He is not a patron deity of the poor,” Sowunmi said.
The APC campaign council member maintained that the opposition’s criticism of Tinubu and his administration should be assessed against the records of those making the claims.
Tinubu is seeking another term in 2027, with APC governors and some governors elected on other party platforms among those who have declared support for his re-election bid.
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