Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar has ruled out any possibility of stepping down from the race for the African Democratic Congress presidential ticket, accusing President Bola Tinubu of interfering in the internal affairs of an emerging opposition coalition to smooth his path to re-election.
In a statement released on Tuesday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku urged Nigerians to resist what he described as attempts by the ruling All Progressives Congress to intimidate and hollow out the opposition ahead of the 2027 election.
His intervention comes amid mounting speculation that he is under pressure to withdraw in favour of a southern candidate as the ADC positions itself to challenge Tinubu. The recent defection of the former Anambra State governor Peter Obi to the party, alongside reports of a possible Atiku–Rabiu Kwankwaso alliance, has intensified debate over the party’s likely flagbearer.
But Atiku dismissed calls for him to step aside, accusing Tinubu of deliberately engineering the collapse of opposition parties in order to govern unchallenged. He described the president’s record as one of misgovernance and economic pain, branding the administration a growing national liability.
“For nearly three years, Nigerians have endured one of the harshest periods in recent history, an era defined by punishing economic policies and a shrinking democratic space under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
“True to form, this administration has not only inflicted widespread hardship but has pursued a calculated effort to eliminate political alternatives. The objective is clear: a creeping, de facto one-party state.”
Atiku argued that the most troubling legacy of the Tinubu administration had been what he called the systematic weakening of opposition parties, leaving the APC “standing alone by default, not by merit”. He said it was in response to this threat that opposition figures had rallied around the ADC as a credible national alternative.
He accused figures aligned with the presidency of seeking to destabilise the ADC by commenting on its internal processes, particularly the choice of a presidential candidate. “Let it be stated plainly: the ADC is on a national rescue mission,” he said, adding that he and other “committed patriots” were central to that effort.
“Any call—overt or covert—for Atiku to step aside is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people.”
Atiku insisted that the ADC would not be derailed by intimidation or manipulation and said the party remained committed to an open and competitive process for selecting its flagbearer. He warned that “APC proxies and external meddlers” had no right to interfere in that process.
The party, he said, was currently focused on building its grassroots structures across the country and would remain open to all genuine opposition figures. “This inclusiveness—not coercion—is the soul of democracy,” he said.
“No one is stepping down. If anyone should step aside, it is President Tinubu—whose leadership has become a national liability.”
Atiku also pointed to the recent public declaration of ADC membership by Peter Obi in Enugu, describing it as a moment that exposed the ruling party’s anxiety. He alleged that ministers and presidential aides had openly boasted of plans to undermine the ADC in response.
“Let there be no ambiguity,” he said. “The ADC is determined to end the misfortune imposed by the Tinubu-led APC. No amount of intimidation, intrigue or sabotage will derail this rescue mission. Nigeria will not surrender its democracy without a fight.”
