Atiku made his position known in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, amid pressure from Obi’s supporters, popularly known as Obidients, who have urged other contenders to step aside for the former Anambra State governor
By Titilope Adako
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected calls for presidential aspirants in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to step down for Peter Obi, insisting that no aspirant will withdraw for another in the emerging opposition coalition.
Atiku made his position known in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, amid pressure from Obi’s supporters, popularly known as Obidients, who have urged other contenders to step aside for the former Anambra State governor.
The statement followed recent remarks by some of Obi’s allies, including Professor Pat Utomi and Aisha Yesufu, who dismissed suggestions that Obi should emerge as a vice presidential candidate within the coalition.
Firmly rejecting any suggestion that he should step down, Atiku described such calls as dangerous and harmful to Nigeria’s democratic process.
“Any call overt or covert for Atiku to ‘step aside’ is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people,” the statement said.
The former Vice President accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of deliberately shrinking democratic space and weakening opposition parties in an attempt to impose what he described as a “creeping, de facto one-party state.”
“For nearly three years, Nigerians have endured one of the harshest periods in recent history — an era defined by punishing economic policies and shrinking democratic space,” the statement read.
It added that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had sought to eliminate political alternatives through systematic pressure on opposition forces.
According to Atiku, the ADC was adopted by opposition figures as a platform to resist this trend and present Nigerians with a credible alternative.
He alleged that individuals aligned with the Presidency were now attempting to destabilise the ADC by interfering in its internal affairs, particularly the process of selecting a presidential candidate.
“Let it be stated plainly: the ADC is on a national rescue mission,” the statement said.
It stressed that the party remains committed to an open, transparent and competitive process for choosing its flagbearer.
Atiku also warned against external interference, saying, “APC proxies and external meddlers have no standing to intimidate, blackmail, or sabotage this democratic resolve.”
He said the party is currently focused on building its grassroots structures nationwide and urged what he described as “disruptors and infiltrators” to allow the process to proceed without interference.
Declaring that all qualified aspirants would be free to contest when the time comes, Atiku stated emphatically, “No one is stepping down.”
He added that if anyone should step aside, it should be President Bola Tinubu, whom he described as “a national liability.”
The former Vice President insisted that the ADC remains determined to challenge the ruling party and “end the misfortune imposed by the Tinubu-led APC.”
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