Former Vice-President and opposition leader, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to  withdraw from the 2027 presidential election if a younger aspirant wins the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). 

Mr Abubakar is expected to contest the presidential election against incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. 

Mr Abubakar, who recently joined the ADC not long ago with the aim of contesting the 2027 election, said the opposition party priorities youths and women. 

“If I run for office, and a young man defeats me, I will accept that. The party we have joined now prioritises youths and women,” the former VP told BBC Hausa on Wednesday, adding that he would support and mentor such young candidate. 

He also added that his main priority ilwas to establish the ADC, make it viable, and gain a strong following ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

According to him, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has infiltrated the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hence his reason for exiting the party. 

“Besides, that is one of the reasons we set up ADC, which I am a member of,” he said. 

Mr Abubakar, who accused the APC-led federal government of dividing the opposition parties, alleged that those in power had frustrated efforts to make the PDP a strong opposition in the state. 

“The APC government in power has decided to use some party leaders to frustrate efforts of having a strong opposition that could challenge the government,” Atiku claimed.

He said, “As the day went by, the crises in PDP were growing, and the hope of resolving it was speedily vanishing because the government was allegedly using some senior members of the party to destabilise the party further, and we could see that in their actions and utterances. 

“I could have taken some firm decisions to fix the party if I were the chairman or secretary of the party, or someone who listened to me was the chairman or secretary. Sadly, the people occupying those positions have different interests that are primarily personal to them.”