Ahead of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primaries, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged party delegates to vote for a competent and experienced candidate capable of addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges and institutional decline.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Atiku made this known in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, highlighting challenges bedevilling Nigeria.
Atiku said the choice before the ADC delegates goes beyond politics, stressing that Nigeria’s current challenges require tested leadership with executive experience, economic understanding and national appeal.
According to the former presidential candidate, the primaries are not a season for political experimentation because Nigeria cannot afford a learning-on-the-job presidency.
He said, “At a time when Nigeria is bleeding from every pore crippled by economic hardship, insecurity, rising debt, institutional failure, and deepening hopelessness the question before the ADC is simple: who has the capacity not merely to campaign, but to govern effectively from day one?
“This is not a season for political experimentation. Nigeria cannot afford a learning-on-the-job presidency. Nigeria today needs a president who understands governance not as theory, but as lived responsibility.
“It needs someone who has negotiated globally, created jobs through enterprise, managed national crises, built coalitions, and consistently articulated a practical roadmap for economic recovery and national renewal.
“At this defining moment, ADC delegates must ask themselves a simple but profound question: do we want to make a statement, or do we want to make a President?
“Nigeria is not merely facing economic hardship; it is grappling with the devastating consequences of catastrophic economic choices, deepening insecurity, and institutional decay. This is not the season for sentiment or political experimentation.”
Atiku further stated that ADC must present to Nigerians its strongest, most credible, most prepared candidate, not merely its loudest
He stated, “Elections are not won on social media enthusiasm alone. Governance is not performance art. The presidency is not a platform for improvisation.
“The ADC must present to Nigerians its strongest, most credible, most prepared candidate, not merely its loudest.
“The economic reforms that helped reposition Nigeria, the privatisation drive that opened sectors, the fiscal discipline that contributed to debt relief, and the governance reforms of that era were not accidents.
“They were products of leadership, competence, and courage.”
The former presidential candidate maintained that defeating an incumbent government would require strategic planning, political resilience and broad national support.
He added, “The ADC must think beyond sentiment. It must think about victory. It must think about governance. It must think about Nigeria.
“This is a defining election. The party needs a candidate with national acceptability, political resilience, tested structures, and the capacity to unify disparate interests into one winning coalition.
“History will remember this moment. The choice before ADC delegates is not merely about ambition. It is about destiny. Nigeria deserves rescue, not rhetoric.”