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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has vowed to “rescue Nigeria” from what he called the “destructive grip” of the ruling All Progressives Congress, after emerging as the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Accepting the ticket on Wednesday, Atiku framed the ADC as the last bastion of internal democracy in Nigeria, contrasting it with a political space he said was being “strangled and squashed” by the APC government.
“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 said. “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 ADC.”
*Coalition, Crackdown Allegations*
Atiku described the ADC as a coalition built “through hard work, immense sacrifices and compromises” to defend democracy, which he said faces its “greatest threat since the return to democratic rule in 1999.”
He accused the APC government, in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission and elements in the judiciary, of engineering leadership crises in opposition parties and using security and anti-corruption agencies to harass, intimidate, and coerce politicians to defect to the ruling party.
“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 said.
Atiku cited the continued detention of former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who he said had been held for three months despite court orders granting bail and denied access to his family during religious holidays and his mother’s final moments.
He warned INEC and the Presidency against further attempts to interfere with or deregister the ADC, saying: “Let me warn that any further attempt to interfere in the affairs of the party… will be fiercely resisted. Enough is enough.”
*Policy Priorities*
Outlining an ADC government agenda, Atiku said he would prioritise security, education, the economy, healthcare, and power-sharing among federating units.
On security, he decried the killing of civilians and security personnel, including military generals, and promised “decisive action” through increased recruitment, modern equipment, improved welfare, and better coordination among agencies.
For education, Atiku pledged free and compulsory primary and secondary education and investment in skills development, noting that “over 20 million of our school-age children are not in school” under the APC.
He accused the Tinubu administration of economic mismanagement, saying poverty had reached unprecedented levels while “what has really been growing is the ill-gotten wealth of a few in and around the corridors of power.” He criticised the handling of fuel subsidy removal and the government’s borrowing, saying external debt alone had reached $30 billion in three years with little accountability.
In healthcare, Atiku promised massive investment in primary healthcare and specialist centres to reduce medical tourism, noting the Federal Ministry of Health received only N30 million for capital expenditure in the previous fiscal year.
*Call for Unity*
Atiku appealed to aggrieved party members and defeated aspirants, including former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi and economist Hayatu-Deen, to join him in the fight to “save our democracy and our country.”
“This is not the time to celebrate. No one was defeated because we are one party,” he said, adding that the ADC would run on “clear national plans with set targets and timelines” and empower states to meet minimum welfare standards.
“Where the APC government offers meaningless renewed hope, we will provide renewed action to repair the damage that they have done to our economy and society in the last twelve years of misrule,” he said.
The ADC is expected to roll out detailed policy timelines in the coming weeks ahead of campaigning for the general elections scheduled for early 2027.
