Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has refuted claims that he has stepped aside from the 2027 presidential race, dismissing them as part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
In a statement issued on Monday, Abubakar’s media office said reports circulating on social media suggesting he had quit active politics were “entirely false and deliberately misleading.”
The statement specifically addressed claims that Abubakar met with stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to announce his withdrawal from the race.
“We wish to state, for the record, that information circulating about a purported meeting of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, with ADC stakeholders in which he allegedly decided to ‘step aside and retire from active politics’ is completely untrue,” the media office said.
The statement added that Abubakar’s only recent engagement with the ADC was with stakeholders in Adamawa State last Thursday, and emphasized that any decision to exit active politics would be formally communicated through his official media channels, not via rumours or anonymous sources.
“This latest falsehood bears all the hallmarks of a coordinated disinformation campaign designed to create confusion, dampen momentum, and mislead the Nigerian public,” the statement read. “It is driven by anti-democratic elements unsettled by the growing national consensus to rescue Nigeria from the failures of the current administration.”
Abubakar’s media office urged Nigerians and supporters of the ADC to disregard the circulating fake news entirely.
This follows earlier denials from December 2025, when Abubakar rejected claims that he would step down in favour of younger candidates.
In January, he also affirmed that no aspirant would be required to withdraw from the ADC presidential ticket race, emphasizing that all qualified contenders would “present themselves freely” when the party begins its selection process.
The statement reinforces Abubakar’s continued intention to pursue the ADC presidential nomination for the 2027 election.
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