Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the All Progressives Congress (APC), asserting that the ruling party's abuse of power must cease. He made this statement on Wednesday night via a post on his official X account after accepting the presidential nomination of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Atiku emerged as the winner of the party's primaries.
Atiku highlighted the coalition's democratic process and its commitment to rescuing Nigeria's democracy from APC's dominance ahead of the 2027 general elections. He expressed profound appreciation for the privilege of leading the ADC into the next elections as its presidential candidate.
“We demonstrated that while democracy is being strangled and squashed by the ruling party and its oppressive and anti-democratic government, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress,” Atiku said. “In our party, members are allowed to express their views, to have ambitions and to contest for elective positions in a free, fair and transparent process.”
He described the ADC as a coalition built through hard work, sacrifices, and compromises, guided by the determination to rescue Nigeria's democracy, which he said is facing its greatest threat since 1999.
Atiku criticized the ruling government for engineering opposition crises, detaining figures like former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai despite court bail, weaponizing agencies against rivals, and failing on security, economic hardship, education, and healthcare.
“As I speak, virtually all opposition political parties in the country have leadership crisis engineered by the APC government, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and elements in the judiciary,” Atiku lamented. “Opposition figures continue to be harassed and intimidated, including those languishing in detention, such as Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who distinguished himself as a public servant, including as a Minister and two-term Governor of Kaduna State. He has been in detention for three months despite court orders granting him bail.”
He added that El-Rufai has been denied the right to celebrate religious holidays with his family and was unable to be by his mother's side as she passed away. “All because he is a leading opposition figure! This kind of cruelty must stop,” Atiku said.
Atiku also accused the government of using security agencies and anti-corruption bodies to harass and coerce opposition politicians to join the APC. “Under this government, once a person joins the APC, the harassment ceases and the charges against them magically disappear. This abuse of power must stop,” he stated.
He warned that any further attempt to interfere in the ADC's affairs by the Presidency, INEC, or judiciary would be fiercely resisted. “Enough is enough,” he declared.
Atiku pledged to prioritize security reforms, free compulsory education, economic investments to create jobs, and primary healthcare expansion. He appealed for opposition unity, including with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
He congratulated his fellow contestants for the ticket, acknowledging their patriotism and commitment to a better Nigeria. “I know that you are driven by your patriotism and commitment to a better Nigeria and improved life for our people. I know that, like me, you are deeply concerned about the rapid descent of our country into economic disaster, catastrophic insecurity, extreme nepotism, political intolerance and the drive towards a one-party state by the current government and its party,” Atiku said.
He emphasized that this is not a time to celebrate but to unite for the fierce urgency of the moment. “We have to unite, as we pledged before this process, to work to pull our country and our people out of the destructive grip of a corrupt, incompetent and polarising APC government,” he added.
Atiku thanked the primary elections committee for organizing peaceful, free, fair, and transparent primaries, as well as party leadership, stakeholders, volunteers, members, and supporters for their efforts.
He stated that the real hard work is about to begin, with preparations to campaign hard to win the next general elections and rescue the country and its long-suffering people. He outlined plans guided by clear national targets and timelines, in line with the party's manifesto.
“We will provide clear leadership that will empower our states to competitively attain the potentials of meeting the expectations of citizens. That will include working with them to guarantee well-outlined minimum standards of welfare provision in line with international best standards. Ours will be a new era of accountable leadership,” Atiku said.
He concluded by reaffirming that his administration would prioritize security, education, the economy, healthcare, and the challenge of power-sharing among the constituent units of the country.
