2027: No Aspirant Will Step Down in ADC, Says Atiku

 

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has declared that no aspirant in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will withdraw from the party’s presidential race ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that all contenders will be allowed to participate freely in the selection process.

Atiku made the declaration in a statement on Tuesday issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, amid speculations that he was being pressured to step aside for a southern aspirant to emerge as the party’s flagbearer.

He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to weaken the opposition through intimidation and interference in the internal affairs of rival parties.

According to him, all qualified aspirants would be given a level playing field when the ADC commences its presidential selection process.

“All qualified aspirants will present themselves freely. No one is stepping down,” Atiku said.

The former vice-president explained that opposition leaders had rallied around the ADC to build what he described as a credible national alternative to the ruling party.

He alleged that individuals aligned with the presidency were deliberately working to destabilise the ADC, particularly over the choice of its presidential candidate.

“Agents aligned with the presidency are now attempting to destabilise the ADC from the outside by issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs,” the statement read.

Atiku stressed that the ADC remained committed to an open, transparent and competitive process, adding that inclusiveness, not coercion, remains the foundation of democracy.

While maintaining that no aspirant would withdraw, Atiku said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be the one to step aside, describing his leadership as a “national liability”.

“If anyone should step aside, it is President Tinubu, whose leadership has become a national liability,” he said.

He further accused the Tinubu administration of imposing harsh economic policies on Nigerians and shrinking the democratic space, warning against what he described as a creeping one-party state.

Atiku alleged that the systematic weakening of opposition parties had become one of the most troubling legacies of the current administration.

He vowed that the ADC would not be intimidated or derailed in its mission to rescue Nigeria from what he called misrule under the APC-led government.

“Nigeria will not surrender its democracy without a fight,” he declared.