Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says that youths and other members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are free to contest the party’s presidential ticket in 2027.

In a statement on Thursday by his spokesman, Paul Ibe, Mr Abubakar said, “Young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest.”

Mr Ibe reiterated Mr Abubakar’s earlier stance in an interview with BBC Hausa on Wednesday that he would concede defeat should he lose the party ticket to a younger candidate.

“He further stressed that if a young candidate were to emerge through a competitive primary, he would readily support such a candidate without any hesitation,” Mr Ibe stated.

Mr Abubakar has contested the presidency six times: in 1993, he contested on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, and in 2007, he contested on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform, losing to Umaru Yar’Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He challenged former President Goodluck Jonathan in the PDP’s primaries in 2011 and lost. After joining the APC in 2014 ahead of the 2015 election, Mr Abubakar lost the presidential primaries to Muhammadu Buhari.

The politician returned to the PDP in 2017 and lost the presidential election to Mr Buhari of the APC in 2019. He contested against Mr Tinubu in 2023 and also lost.