Atiku Speaks on ‘Stepping Down for Southern Candidate’

Atiku Speaks on Stepping Down for Southern Candidate

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has firmly denied reports suggesting he was asked to step down for a southern presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections. Speaking through a statement issued by his media office on Tuesday in Abuja, Atiku dismissed the claim as entirely false, describing it as a fabricated story engineered by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to mislead the public and disrupt the growing momentum of the opposition.

According to the statement, Atiku was not part of any meeting where such discussions allegedly took place, nor was he approached with any proposal to withdraw from the race. His camp emphasized that the story was “pure fiction” designed to cause confusion within the opposition coalition, particularly in light of the recent unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the political platform for the alliance.

The former vice president accused the APC of deploying diversionary tactics, using propaganda and planted media stories in an attempt to derail the opposition’s strategy ahead of 2027. He maintained that the ruling party is threatened by the rising support the ADC is gaining across the country and is resorting to desperate measures to weaken the opposition’s unity.

Atiku’s media office urged the public and the press to disregard the report, pointing out that it lacked any credible source, identifiable authorship, or factual backing. The statement reaffirmed the opposition’s determination to challenge the Tinubu administration at the next polls, insisting that no amount of false narratives or political maneuvering will alter their resolve.