The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to a presidential debate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku said his participation in any presidential debate would depend on the presence of President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The position was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by Atiku’s official spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo.

Okonkwo said presidential debates should serve as platforms for candidates of both the ruling and opposition parties to present their policies, programmes and vision to Nigerians.

He, however, condemned the practice of organising debates involving only opposition candidates, describing it as “untenable.”

According to him, the arrangement gives the APC-led administration an opportunity to avoid direct scrutiny while allegedly using such platforms to create divisions among opposition parties.

Okonkwo maintained that all major presidential contenders should be given equal opportunity to engage Nigerians and defend their records and policy proposals ahead of the 2027 election.

He therefore stated that Atiku would not participate in any presidential debate that excludes President Tinubu and the ruling party.

The statement reads in full: “Political contest worldwide has always been between the ruling party and the opposition parties. Presidential debates worldwide have also been organised between the ruling party and the opposition.

“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 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 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.

“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.”