•ADC challenges Presidency for debate on petrol subsidy removal

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has said he will only participate in presidential debates ahead of the 2027 general election if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are also present.

In a statement, which he shared on his X  handle at @realken okonkwo, on Tuesday, his Official Spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, described the current practice of organising debates among opposition parties only as “untenable” and a strategy by the APC to avoid scrutiny.

Okonkwo said as a leader of the Coalition of Opposition Parties and Leaders, Atiku would make his appearance at any presidential debate conditional on the participation of President Tinubu and the APC.

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

He added that Atiku remains willing to engage Nigerians directly through other platforms.

“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 said.

Atiku, through his spokesperson, also challenged Tinubu to a national presidential debate to allow both the ruling party and opposition to present their policies to Nigerians ahead of 2027.

“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,” he said.

On Tuesday, 18 August 2026, a day before the official commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was conspicuously absent in Abuja at the formal signing of the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns, organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre.

READ ALSO: Atiku’s fuel subsidy position exposes tensions within Tinubu’s administration — Austin Okai

The Waziri Adamawa was also represented, on Monday, by his running mate, and former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt.

ADC challenges Presidency for debate on petrol subsidy removal

Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged the Presidency to a public debate on the removal of petrol subsidy, saying Nigerians deserve facts, not insults and “gaslighting”.

The party was reacting to a post by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and National Orientation, Sunday Dare, who criticised former Vice President Atiku’s proposal for a targeted subsidy as part of his economic recovery plan.

In the post on X, Dare accused Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate, of hypocrisy, saying true leadership demands defending difficult reforms instead of chasing “populist illusions” for electoral gain.

He said Atiku’s position insults the intelligence of Nigerians who are coping with global economic headwinds.

“True leadership requires the courage to defend difficult, foundational reforms even when the political weather is rough, rather than pandering to populist illusions for ballot-box validation,” Dare wrote.

He described Atiku’s intervention as a “desperate gambit” and urged Nigerians to reject it.

Responding on X, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the government had failed to convince Nigerians of the benefits of subsidy removal three years after the policy was implemented.

“My brother, Sunny, take am easy o. It’s not enough to throw insults around and gaslight Nigerians. You guys had three years to demonstrate to Nigerians how the removal of fuel subsidy makes sense. You did not,” Abdullahi said.

He accused the government of mocking the hardship Nigerians are facing by describing it as “resilience,” and said the opposition was now being attacked for proposing alternatives.

“Now, Atiku is proposing an alternative, and you all are running around,” he stated.

Abdullahi also accused the Presidency of hypocrisy, referencing past comments by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“And talking about hypocrisy? Watch the video of BAT attacking Jonathan for attempting to remove this same subsidy in 2012,” he said.

The ADC spokesman called for issue-based engagement instead of rhetoric.

“Let us know when you guys are ready for a real debate, not this anyhow talk,” he added.