The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has hinted that he would only participate in presidential debates provided that President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are physically present at such gathering.

This was just as Atiku accused the APC-led administration of using debate platforms to pit opposition candidates against one another while evading public accountability.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, his campaign spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo criticised the current political landscape where presidential debates are primarily organised among opposition candidates, describing the practice as untenable and tactical shielding of the ruling party.

“Political contest worldwide has always been between the ruling party and the opposition parties,” Okonkwo stated.

“The situation in Nigeria today in which presidential debates are organised among the opposition parties only is therefore untenable. This has become a strategy that the failed, incompetent, and corrupt APC government under Tinubu has been using to further instigate the opposition to attack each other while shielding itself from scrutiny by the Nigerian people.”

He emphasised that the former Vice President would no longer participate in televised debate structures that exclude the incumbent administration.

“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,” he added. “There is no hiding place for APC in 2027.”

The campaign clarified that while Atiku will refrain from opposition-only debate panels, he remains committed to directly engaging with voters through other public forums.

“HE Atiku Abubakar is willing to engage the Nigerian people through interviews, townhall 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 statement read.

To set the record straight, Okonkwo issued an explicit challenge to President Tinubu for a head-to-head national debate to allow Nigerians to assess both platforms ahead of the polls.

“HE Atiku Abubakar, therefore, challenges President Bola Tinubu to a national presidential debate which will provide an opportunity for both the ruling party and the opposition parties to address Nigerians on their policies and ways to achieve those policies so that Nigerians can make an informed choice for the 2027 elections,” Okonkwo added.