A chieftain in the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), and adviser to the party’s National Chairman, Chille Igbawua, has criticised Rabiu Kwankwaso’s call for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to step down from the 2027 presidential race, saying the former Kano governor’s remarks amounted to an insult to an elder statesman.
Kwankwaso made the call on Monday at his residence in Abuja while receiving members of the Fulani Farmers Association, urging them to tell Atiku to focus on his traditional title and responsibilities as Wazirin Adamawa, citing his age and health.
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Igbawua, however, questioned the basis of Kwankwaso’s comments, saying he was unaware of any data indicating that Atiku’s health constituted a deficit. He argued that age alone should not determine a person’s ability to govern, noting that some younger people might lack the agility, mental capacity and political sagacity Atiku possesses.
“I would count it as an insult to an elder because you can talk to somebody through a proper medium, and I think the medium was not correct.
” Secondly, I do not know where he has data on Atiku’s health. The age, Atiku has not changed his age, so it wouldn’t be a matter of argument. But whether at that age Atiku cannot govern is a totally different thing. I know people who say they are younger than Atiku who don’t appear to have the agility and mental capacity and sagacity that Atiku has. So, it’s not the age you count on paper, but age also goes with a set of health, and I am not seeing any of those as being a deficit on the part of Atiku Abubakar.”
The ADC chieftain also drew attention to a recent position by the ADC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who said requests for him to step down should be directed to the party rather than to him personally. He argued that the same principle should apply to Atiku, who is the ADC presidential candidate, saying anyone seeking his withdrawal should take the matter to the party for consideration.
“Just yesterday, his principal, the presidential candidate of the NDC was on Arise, and he said anybody asking him about stepping down was misplacing the argument. That he’s a presidential candidate of a political party, and all such requests and suggestions should go to the party, not him. Similarly, Atiku is a presidential candidate of the ADC, and I think that a person who is serious about making such suggestions would go to the ADC.”
Responding to suggestions that Atiku’s emergence was predetermined, Igbawua said some aspirants chose not to participate in an internal contest, preferring a platform that offered a free ticket. He maintained that the ADC was not created merely as a vehicle for the 2027 election, but had developed a constitution, manifesto and policy documents as the foundation for a broader political platform.
“He did emerge maybe because those who could have contested along, some of them ran away. What is the difference if they were contesting one another or just walking away to go to a platform that doesn’t require intra-party contests? I think that was the main thing. Some of the persons who were aspiring did not want to contest internally at all; they simply wanted a free ticket.
“As it stands, ADC is one of the party platforms that has produced for itself a very profound constitution, has also produced a manifesto, and policy documents.”
Igbawua also rejected claims that the ADC deliberately tilted its presidential ticket towards Atiku, describing such suggestions as speculative. Igbawua said the coalition underwent a lengthy process before settling on the ADC platform, adding that Peter Obi had joined early enough to understand what was going on. He also dismissed the notion that Atiku was unbeatable in party primaries, noting that the former vice-president had lost primary contests in the past.
“That is completely speculative. We went through a process that took us one year, three months before we even decided whether we were going to register a new party, or we were going to do a merger, or we were going to adopt a platform. And he joined us, maybe not from the beginning, but he joined us long enough to understand what was going on.
“I have said elsewhere that the suggestion that Atiku doesn’t lose primaries is untrue. The fact is, he has lost primaries before.”
Responding to claims that Atiku’s emergence was the result of a rigged primary, Igbawua said allegations of rigging were common among candidates who lost elections. He said the figures and margins recorded in the contest should be considered, noting that all the aspirants had representatives across the country to protect their interests during the exercise.
“They all contested vigorously across the nation, and earned votes for themselves, except that he ended up winning more votes. I’m not aware of any election in which rigging is not the feeling of those who lose it. There’s always allegations of rigging, and I cannot say it is untrue that sometimes elections are rigged.
“But when we talk about rigging, we should also look at the figures and the differentials between those who win and those who lose. If it’s very competitive—you can’t go into an election and then you have 1 million votes, and then somebody gets 800, somebody gets 100, and you begin to say that it was rigged. Because you must be on ground somewhere. Every other candidate had their representatives across the country, in all states, and so forth. So, they were supposed to represent their interests.”
Speaking on why the ADC believes Atiku can succeed in 2027, Igbawua said the timing was different from his previous presidential bids, pointing to what he described as the government’s poor performance and the ADC’s preparedness to offer Nigerians a clear alternative.
He added that the party’s campaign council and policy documents would soon be unveiled to demonstrate its readiness to govern.
“That was not the time. This happens to be the time. Secondly, the indices in our economy and our polity are very clear: that we are going against a government that has failed very, very woefully. And we have a very clear program. I believe that by next week, when we get our campaign council out and we begin to launch those documents, Nigerians will see that this is a political party that is well prepared to govern.”
He insisted that he did not see any opposition party other than the ADC that was prepared to make a serious challenge in the 2027 election, saying the party’s extensive preparations had positioned it for a credible contest.
“I don’t see any opposition party that is prepared to make a real go at this election other than the ADC.”
Addressing concerns that Atiku’s refusal to step down could hinder opposition cooperation, Igbawua questioned why such calls were being made after the ADC had already conducted its primary election.
He described Kwankwaso’s health argument as unsubstantiated, saying he did not believe the former Kano governor could prove that he was healthier than Atiku and again characterised the call as “playing to the gallery.”
“We were together, and we had the opportunity to dialogue continuously and make a decision in-house. I wonder why this thing now is the time. When we had no candidate yet, why did people not stay back to contest? After they have contested, they have brought up their programs that people are supposed to be part of in line with the policy document of the ADC. So, you now come in and say, ‘Well, let’s step aside for reasons that are spurious.’
“You say health; I don’t see that. I don’t think Kwankwaso can prove that he has better health than Atiku. So, that call is just to me playing to the gallery, nothing more than that”
Igbawua said the ADC would continue to pursue dialogue with other opposition parties to prevent disagreements from escalating into a destructive political battle. He maintained that neither Atiku nor the party had made inflammatory statements against other opposition candidates, adding that the ADC remained open to discussions aimed at finding common ground ahead of the 2027 election.
“The first thing is that ADC as a party has been calm in approaching matters of dialogue with other opposition political parties. Atiku has not made an inflammatory statement against any other candidate, as you can see, and that is similar with the ADC as a political party. We don’t make inflammatory statements against other political parties in the opposition. We believe dialogue can continue. Whether it succeeds or not is a different thing, but at least it gives the opportunity that the opposition can come together and do what they think they should do. If it fails, then everybody goes on to do the contest. But we are doing our best as a political party not to heat up the camp of the opposition. At all times, we are ready for dialogue.”
Criticising Kwankwaso’s suggestion that Atiku would be “taken care of” if the opposition wins the 2027 election, Igbawua described the remark as patronising and irresponsible. He said the comment had created a gulf within the opposition and caused significant damage to the NDC, arguing that Kwankwaso should not make statements he could not defend.
“I think that if someone makes a proposition and it is reasonable, as you can see, it will be easier for you to take it or not to take it. But to suggest that Atiku should step down so that if they win, they will take care of him? How? That is an insult.
“Take care of him in what way? Is that the essence of winning an election? You want to take care of Atiku, you want to take care of him in what way? You want to pay his utility bills? You want to provide food in his house and for the millions of people that are with him? So that’s why I said what Kwankwaso said amounts to an insult, and he doesn’t mean well for the opposition. In fact, he has done a lot of damage to the NDC.
“By saying that. Because he’s created a gulf. You don’t insult somebody in words that you cannot defend. That sounds patronizing and I think it is absolutely irresponsible.”
On the ADC’s economic agenda, Igbawua said Atiku’s positions on restructuring, economic liberalisation and private sector-led growth aligned with the party’s policy documents. He said the ADC also had detailed proposals on insecurity and fuel pricing, arguing that the removal of fuel subsidy alongside the floating of the naira had destabilised the economy and required deliberate measures to restore stability.
“We have brought out the policy documents, the green book, that we have presented to the media. It is part of the plans to make the ADC a party of distinction. What Atiku is saying, if you read through the policy document of the ADC, you will discover that it aligns with it. Beyond that, we have clear programs for security to handle the issue of insecurity—not just making a statement that we’ll tackle insecurity, but the how of it.
“That issue of fuel subsidy came up first because that is the most pressing problem. It’s the most pressing issue because it has destabilized the entire economy and the polity. So, if we can take care of that, then other things will begin to fall in line. People will have improved purchasing power and will be able to exercise patience to wait for you to deal with other issues. Atiku consulted documents. This is a well worked-out proposal.”
Disagreeing with the suggestion that the ADC was opposed to generational change, Igbawua said the party had deliberately created structures to increase youth participation and prepare a younger generation for leadership positions, and its female vice-presidential candidate as evidence of its commitment to inclusion and a smooth transition to younger leadership.”
“I wouldn’t say that ADC does not believe in generational change, no. ADC is one of the parties that, in course and from policy, is engaging the youth in a manner that transition will be very easy. ADC prides itself as having the youngest female as Deputy National Secretary of the party. We pride ourselves with having a youth leader female, separate from a youth leader male.”
“At least we have a female vice presidential candidate. If that does not show that we’re now searching for a female presidential candidate… If they come on, why not? I’m saying that the idea of bringing youth at this stage is to prepare for smooth transition.”
Addressing the possibility of the opposition going into the 2027 election with multiple presidential candidates, Igbawua said the ADC remained confident of defeating the incumbent and changing the country.
He argued that the political circumstances were different from previous elections, saying the incumbent government was seeking re-election with what he described as ” too much baggage”, and that Nigerians suffering under the current administration would prefer the opposition’s alternatives to another four years of the government.
“The result will be the same: we will defeat the incumbent and change the country. And I say that confidently. I’m not being rhetorical.
“When that happened, they did not contest against an incumbent who was trying to get back to office. So, there was some free room to walk in. Now, we are contesting against an incumbent who has too much baggage. There’s too much baggage. And I believe that any Nigerian that understands why he is suffering now would rather go for what the opposition parties are saying than to keep this government in place for another four years.”
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