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Says Tinubu, APC must be in attendance
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has given conditions under he will participate in presidential debates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku categorically declared that he will only participate in presidential debates ahead of the January next year’s election if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are represented.
This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo.
The presidential debates, the ADC maintained, should provide an opportunity for candidates of both the ruling party and opposition parties to present their policies and programmes to Nigerians.
He faulted the organisation of presidential debates involving only opposition candidates, describing the arrangement as “untenable.”
According to him, such debates could result in opposition candidates attacking one another while the ruling party avoids scrutiny.
According to the statement, “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.”
Okonkwo maintained that Atiku remained willing to engage Nigerians through interviews, town hall meetings, press conferences and other platforms, stressing that he would not participate in debates that merely pit opposition candidates against one another.
His words, “HE Atiku Abubakar is willing to engage the Nigerian people through interviews, town hall 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”.
The ADC Presidential flag bearer has however challenged President Tinubu to participate in a national presidential debate ahead of the 2027 election.
Atiku reasoned that such a debate would provide an opportunity for candidates of the ruling and opposition parties to explain their policies and how they intended to implement them if elected.
This, he added would enable Nigerians to make informed choices at the 2027 polls.
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