Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed any suggestion that he would withdraw from the contest for the African Democratic Congress presidential ticket, while accusing President Bola Tinubu of meddling in the internal affairs of the opposition coalition.
In the statement titled “Nigeria’s Democracy Under Siege: Opposition Faces Existential Threat,” Atiku accused the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of interfering in the internal affairs of the ADC.
He alleged that forces aligned with President Bola Tinubu were attempting to influence the party’s choice of presidential candidate, warning that such actions posed a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
“Agents aligned with the Presidency are now attempting to destabilize the ADC from the outside—issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs, particularly the choice of a presidential candidate,” the statement said.
Atiku noted that all aspirants would submit themselves to the party’s presidential convention, stressing that the ADC leadership had given assurances of fairness.
“The ADC has consistently affirmed its commitment to an open, transparent, and competitive process for selecting its flagbearer,” the statement read.
According to Atiku, patriotic leaders rallied around the ADC to provide Nigerians with a credible alternative.
“Thankfully, patriotic leaders saw this danger early and chose resistance over silence by rallying around the ADC as the nucleus of a credible national alternative,” he said.