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<p>By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa</p><div class="RRoh9pIq" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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<p>Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says no aspirant will withdraw from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential race ahead of the 2027 elections.</p>
<p>In a statement issued by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, Abubakar accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to intimidate and weaken the opposition ahead of next year’s elections.</p><div class="uugPSWdY" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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<p>He said all qualified aspirants would “present themselves freely” when the party begins its selection process.</p>
<p>The former vice-president spoke amid reports that he was under pressure to step down for a southern aspirant to emerge as the ADC’s flagbearer.</p>
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<p>Abubakar said opposition leaders rallied around the ADC to build a credible national alternative to the ruling party.</p>
<p>“Predictably, agents aligned with the presidency are now attempting to destabilise the ADC from the outside—issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs, particularly the choice of a presidential candidate,” the statement reads.</p>
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<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Abubakar stressed that the ADC remained committed to “an open, transparent, and competitive process” for selecting its flagbearer.</p>
<p>He said the party is open to all genuine opposition figures, noting that “inclusiveness—not coercion—is the soul of democracy”.</p>
<p>While reiterating that no one in the party would step down, Abubakar said President Tinubu, whose leadership, he said, has become a “national liability”, should be the one to step down.</p>
<p>“Disruptors and infiltrators must allow the party to do this essential work without interference,” he said.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>“Let there be no ambiguity: 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.</p>
<p>“Nigeria will not surrender its democracy without a fight.”</p>
<p>He lamented that Nigerians are suffering in “an era defined by punishing economic policies and shrinking democratic space under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.</p>
<p>“True to form, this administration has not only inflicted widespread hardship but has also pursued a calculated effort to eliminate political alternatives. The objective is clear: a creeping, de facto one-party state,” he added.</p>
<p>“Perhaps the Tinubu administration’s most disturbing ‘achievement’ has been the systematic weakening of opposition parties, leaving the All Progressives Congress—despite its manifest failures—standing alone by default, not by merit.”</p>
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