Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, says his participation in presidential debates ahead of the 2027 general elections will depend on the attendance of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Atiku made his position known in a statement issued by his official spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, on Tuesday.
According to the statement, presidential debates should provide an opportunity for both the ruling and opposition parties to present their policies and programmes to Nigerians.
Atiku condemned the practice of organising debates involving only opposition candidates, describing it as “untenable”.
He accused the APC-led Tinubu administration of using such platforms to create divisions among opposition parties while avoiding scrutiny.
Atiku’s statement read in full: “Political contest worldwide has always been between the ruling party and the opposition parties. Presidential debates worldwide have also been organised between the ruling party and the opposition.
“The situation in Nigeria today in which presidential debates are organised among the opposition parties only is therefore untenable. This has become a strategy that the failed, incompetent, and corrupt APC government under Tinubu has been using to further instigate the opposition to attack each other while shielding itself from scrutiny by the Nigerian people.
“HE Atiku Abubakar, as the leader of the coalition of opposition parties and leaders, is left with no other choice than to make his appearance in any presidential debates conditional on the participation of President Bola Tinubu and the APC. There is no hiding place for APC in 2027.
“HE Atiku Abubakar is willing to engage the Nigerian people through interviews, townhall meetings, press conferences, and any other forum of interaction with the people but will not participate in any arrangement that will pit the opposition against itself and give undue advantage to APC.
“HE Atiku Abubakar, therefore, challenges President Bola Tinubu to a national presidential debate which will provide an opportunity for both the ruling party and the opposition parties to address Nigerians on their policies and ways to achieve those policies so that Nigerians can make an informed choice for the 2027 elections.”
