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Atiku Abubakar Claims All Progressives Congress Uneasy Over African Democratic Congress Surge Ahead of 2027 Polls
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are nervous because he is the centre of gravity in the unfolding 2027 political equation.
Atiku said the presidency’s nervousness was made worse by the recent momentum of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku raised the alarm over coordinated disinformation to undermine ADC’s momentum.
He stressed that claims of his political retirement were outright falsehood, saying, “This is not sentiment. It is political reality.
“And it is precisely this growing convergence, this widening field of attraction that has triggered panic among anti-democratic elements who now resort to crude propaganda in a desperate attempt to fracture a momentum they neither understand nor can contain.”
The former vice president said, “Those who understand power know that what some dismiss as ‘noise’ is often the earliest signal of movement, revealing where attention was drifting, where interests were recalibrating, and where the next realignment might ultimately settle
“No amount of disinformation will halt this movement. The determination of Nigerians far outweighs the fear of those who have failed them.
“We urge supporters of Atiku Abubakar, members of the ADC, and all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard this propaganda in its entirety and remain steadfast in the collective mission to rebuild our nation.”
‘Pressure on INEC to Destabilise ADC’
ADC accused the APC-led federal government of attempting to destabilisethe opposition party following Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s defection.
It alleged that the plot was being executed by mount-ing pressure on Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, to interfere with the ADC leadership.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC said a March 28 letter by some Senior Advocates, purportedly representing an expelled member of the party, was being used to push INEC to invalidate party actions and alter its structure before the court ruling. ADC alleged that this was part of a grand plan to destabilise the only viable opposition party left in the country and promised to resist it using all constitutional means.
The party said it had observed a coordinated attempt to pressure Amupitanand to destabilise the David Mark-led leadership of ADC.
The statement said, ‘’The decision of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to join our party has understandably sent jitters through the ruling party.
“Since then, top officials within the federal government have renewed their onslaught against our party, in a bid to discourage other high-profile figures.
‘’This conspiracy is centred on a legal dispute that is now being pushed beyond the courtroom. In a letter dated March 28, 2026, a team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria is asking INEC to enforce a curious and peculiar interpretation of a Court of Appeal ruling regarding what constitutes ‘status quo ante bellum’.”
Abdullahi said in the said letter the writers even went ahead to threaten the INEC chairman with arrest if he did not grant their request within seven days.
ADC stated, ‘’They want INEC to invalidate party meetings, remove recognised officials, and hand over the affairs of the party to a specific individual, even though the case itself has not been fully decided by the courts.
“Obviously, what the authors of this vexatious letter are attempting to do is to pressure INEC to take sides and grant them what no court in Nigeria has granted.”
The statement added, ‘’For the avoidance of doubt, Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is claiming to be aggrieved over the ADC leadership, was never the Chairman of the ADC.
“And, perhaps more significantly, Nafiu Gombe had earlier resigned his position alongside other members of the National Working Committee.
‘’He has also since been expelled from the party. Therefore, any attempt to recreate a ‘status quo’ that upgrades his position to National Chairman of the ADC at any point in time is, at best, fictitious.
‘’What we are witnessing is a convergence of legal pressure and political intent by a ruling party that is unsettled by the growing appeal of the ADC. But Nigerians can see what is happening.’’
Group: Plans to Cancel Opposition, Make APC Only Option Won’t Be Allowed
A group, Nigeria Democratic Rights Advocacy (NDRA), warned the governing APC that the attempts to compromise the country’s democracy and make the party the only option on the ballot in 2027 would not be tolerated or accepted.
NDRA also raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the presidency to discredit and cancel credible leaders of the opposition ADC.
Secretary-General of NDRA, Hon. Julius Aondowase, in a statement, said the ongoing litigation challenging the authenticity of the Senator David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) of ADC was being orchestrated by APC.
The group stated that the rising profile of ADC, especially in the northern part of the country, had unsettled the presidency and upset a particular prominent appointee of the APC administration from the north.
NDRA said in the statement, “We have it from a reliable source that a meeting was convened on Monday with senior legal minds in Abuja.
“The purpose of the meeting is to explore all possible options that would compromise the judicial system to stop the ADC from participating in the election next year.”
Aondowase stated, “We are also aware that the decision to get the ADC off the ballot in the upcoming election was handed down to the Northern top politician in the presidency.
“It is the last joker by the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, to ensure a system of control over all viable opposition parties ahead of the election next year.”
