Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has told delegates of the African Democratic Congress to prioritise competence and national reach over sentiments and social media popularity as it prepares to pick a presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed social media enthusiasm as an insufficient test for the presidency.
The former vice president insisted that the party must field its strongest candidate to defeat President Bola Tinubu, arguing that with Nigeria mired in economic hardship, mounting debts, insecurity and institutional decay, the ADC cannot afford the luxury of fielding an untested candidate.
“This is not a season for political experimentation. Nigeria cannot afford a learning-on-the-job presidency,” he declared.
He took a pointed swipe at the wave of enthusiasm surrounding certain contenders, insisting that presidential contests are decided by structures, strategy, and governance capacity, not digital noise.
“Elections are not won on social media enthusiasm alone. Governance is not performance art. The presidency is not a platform for improvisation. The ADC must present to Nigerians its strongest, most credible, most prepared candidate; not merely its loudest,” he said.
Atiku described the choice before ADC delegates as one that transcends ordinary political calculations, calling it a historic responsibility given the scale of Nigeria’s current crisis.
He said, “At a time when Nigeria is bleeding from every pore, crippled by economic hardship, insecurity, rising debt, institutional failure, and deepening hopelessness, the question before the ADC is simple: who has the capacity not merely to campaign, but to govern effectively from day one?”
Atiku argued that the moment calls for a leader who has “negotiated globally, created jobs through enterprise, managed national crises, built coalitions, and consistently articulated a practical roadmap for economic recovery and national renewal.”
