Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has firmly rejected calls urging him to step aside from the 2027 presidential race, warning that such demands amount to a betrayal of the Nigerian people and a dangerous endorsement of authoritarian ambitions.
Atiku, in a statement by his Media Adviser Paul Ibe, accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of deliberately working to weaken opposition parties as part of an alleged plan to turn Nigeria into a de facto one-party state.
The former Vice President spoke amid ongoing political realignments across the opposition, with his camp confirming that leading opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, have converged on the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which it described as the emerging nucleus of a credible national alternative.
Dismissing suggestions that he should step down in favour of a younger candidate within the emerging coalition, Ibe stressed that the ADC is committed to an open, transparent, and competitive process for selecting its presidential flagbearer.
“Let it be stated plainly: the ADC is on a national rescue mission. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alongside other committed patriots, is central to this effort. Any call—overt or covert – for Atiku to step aside is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people,” he said.
Atiku described the past three years under President Tinubu as one of the most challenging periods in Nigeria’s recent history, citing harsh economic policies, rising hardship, and what it termed a shrinking democratic space.
He also alleged that individuals aligned with the Presidency are seeking to destabilize the ADC by interfering in its internal affairs, particularly its presidential nomination process.
“Predictably, agents aligned with the Presidency are now attempting to destabilize the ADC from the outside, issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs, especially the choice of a presidential candidate,” he said, insisting that the party would resist all forms of intimidation.
He maintained that APC proxies and external meddlers have no standing to blackmail or sabotage the democratic resolve of the ADC.
“When the time comes, all qualified aspirants will present themselves freely. No one is stepping down. If anyone should step aside, it is President Tinubu, whose leadership has become a national liability,” he declared.
The statement further confirmed the defection of Peter Obi to the ADC, noting that his public declaration of membership in Enugu had unsettled the ruling party.
“The recent public declaration of ADC membership by former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in Enugu, the political heartbeat of the Southeast, triggered open boasts by a serving minister and presidential aides about plans to undermine the party. Their fear is evident,” it stated.
According to Atiku, the ADC is currently focused on strengthening its structures at the ward and local government levels nationwide, warning those seeking to disrupt the process to allow the party to carry out its work. Atiku reaffirmed his determination to end what he described as the misfortune imposed by the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC), vowing that Nigeria’s democracy would not be surrendered without resistance.