Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has urged Nigerians to protect their votes during the election, insisting that what he described as irregularities in the 2023 presidential election would not happen again.
Atiku made the statement on Wednesday while flagging off his 2027 presidential campaign in Sokoto State, where he addressed a large crowd of supporters at the party’s state secretariat.
The former vice president said the ADC administration, if elected, would focus on restoring security, reviving the economy and reducing the hardship faced by Nigerians.
He also promised to restore fuel subsidy, reopen Nigeria’s land borders for legitimate businesses and strengthen economic activities across the country, especially in northern communities.
According to him, the party’s agenda is centred on improving security, creating economic opportunities and returning prosperity to Nigerians.
“One of our promises is to make sure that security is restored in every part of this country, Secondly, we will ensure ensure that our borders are open to legitimate trade with our partners because we are all on the same side. All our families are inter-connected.
“We are also promising to return wealth to the people, to all the people, to everybody in this country,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate also criticised the Sokoto State Government over what he described as attempts to frustrate the campaign rally, saying the event eventually held despite the challenges.
“The state government never wanted this event to hold, but by the grace of God, we are here today. This is a great party and a great force in West Africa,” he said.
Speaking on the 2027 election, Atiku called on Nigerians to participate actively in the democratic process and ensure their votes count from polling units to the final declaration of results.
“I appeal to all our supporters to come out and vote. Vote massively and protect your votes and make sure your vote is counted and announced. We will not allow what happened in the last elections to happen anymore,” he added.
The ADC candidate’s campaign message comes as political parties intensify preparations ahead of the 2027 elections, with issues including insecurity, economic hardship, fuel prices and governance expected to dominate political debates.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, described the turnout at the Sokoto rally as evidence of growing dissatisfaction with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
Mark said the crowd that welcomed the party’s campaign train from the airport to the venue showed Nigerians were eager for political change.
“When I saw the mammoth crowd from the airport to this venue. I began to ask myself, ordinarily, it should not be more than 20 minutes drive from the airport to the town but because of the crowd we ended up spending almost 4 good hours to reach the campaign venue.
“Honestly, if I were in government, I would also be afraid with this number of supporters,” he said.
He added that the reception demonstrated the popularity of former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and the ADC governorship candidate in the state, Hon. Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya.
“The crowd has shokw clearly that Senator Aminu Wasiri Tambuwal and our governorship candidate, Hon. Manir Dan’Iya is sincerely loved by the people of the state and by God’s grace we noto my winning Nigeria but also Sokoto,” Mark stated.
The campaign flag-off, which was held under tight security, was attended by former Sokoto State Governor Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, ADC governorship candidate Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya and other leaders of the coalition.
