Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has vowed not to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress presidential aspirant made the declaration in a statement yesterday signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe.

In the statement entitled ‘Nigeria’s Democracy Under Siege: Opposition Faces Existential Threat’. Atiku accused the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of meddling in the choice of the ADC presidential candidate.

Checks revealed that, apart from Atiku, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and former presidential aspirant on the APC platform, Rotimi Amaechi, have also declared interest in the ADC ticket.

Atiku, who accused President Bola Tinubu of plotting to foist a one-party state on Nigeria, further alleged that “agents aligned with the Presidency are now attempting to destabilise the ADC from the outside—issuing reckless prescriptions about its internal affairs, particularly the choice of a presidential candidate.”

The former Vice President, however, noted that all contenders for the ADC ticket would submit themselves to a presidential convention, having been assured by the party’s national leadership of “its commitment to an open, transparent and competitive process for selecting its flagbearer.”

The statement maintained that “any call—overt or covert—for Atiku to step aside” is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people.”