Paul Ibe, an aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has rubbished claims that Odih Rowland is an aide to his principal.

This was after Rowland dumped the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he joined a few weeks ago, to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a post on X, Ibe slammed attempts to link Atiku to Rowland, adding that the latter's return to the PDP is not an indication that the former vice president's 2027 ambition has suffered a setback.

He wrote, "The pathway to a successful presidential bid of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar continues to be clearer by the day as it becomes inevitable that Nigerians are desirous of a leadership that will rescue the country from the failed Tinubu administration. Any attempt to suggest that Atiku’s prospective bid has suffered a setback, as was the case with one online tatters, http:/newsweekng.com, because one Odih Rowland purportedly decided to return to his mess is a joke taken too far.

"For the records, Rowland is not an aide to Atiku in any shape or form. The Oxford dictionary defines an 'aide' as 'an assistant to an important person, especially a political leader.' The said Rowland has never acted as an assistant to the Waziri of Adamawa. Any attempt to link him to the former Vice President is propaganda aimed at achieving a nefarious outcome."

ASA