Will you deliver on your plans and ensure every vote counts?

As for me and my party this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away. For as long as I breathe I will continue to struggle, with other Nigerians, to deepen our democracy and rule of law and for the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs to reach its true potential. That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation. So, let me make a few proposals that I believe will help. We can urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people. Our democracy must mean something; it must be substantive. Above all, it must be expressed through free, fair and transparent elections that respect the will of the people. Firstly, we must make electronic voting and collation of results mandatory. This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies. Secondly, we must provide that all litigation arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of a winner. This was the case in 1979. The current time frame between elections and inauguration of winners is inadequate to dispense with election litigations.

#WorkersDay2026: Broken Promises, Shattered Hopes: The Nigerian Worker's Burden Under the Tinubu Administration. Every first day of May, nations across the world pause to honour the dignity of labour and the men and women whose sweat and toil sustain civilisation. In Nigeria, Workers' Day has always carried a particular poignancy, a moment to celebrate the resilience of a workforce that endures much and receives little. But as we mark this year's commemoration, I write not with celebration in my heart, but with grief. Grief for the Nigerian worker who was promised renewed hope and received instead renewed hardship. A Slogan Betrayed. "Renewed Hope" - those two words carried the dreams of millions of Nigerians who trooped to the polls in 2023. They were words that promised a departure from the suffering of previous years; a promise that the government would finally work for the people. Today, as we assess nearly three years of the Tinubu administration, it is painfully clear that what was renewed was not hope, but hardship. What was refreshed was not the fortunes of the Nigerian people, but the pockets of those in power.

Different languages. Different cultures. One reality. No Nigerian youth wakes up hoping for unemployment. No Nigerian parent dreams of sending a child to an unsafe school. No entrepreneur prays for higher inflation. No family wishes to live in fear. Our shared challenges must produce a shared purpose. The Nigeria we seek will never be built on ethnic suspicion or religious division. It will be built by citizens who understand that our diversity is a strength—not a weakness. In 2027, let us vote for competence. Let us vote for character. Let us vote for ideas. Let us vote for the future. Mandate Number Three: Become Builders of a New Nigeria. I ask you today not merely to support a candidate. I ask you to build a movement. A movement founded on ideas. A movement rooted in integrity. A movement committed to peaceful democratic change. Go back to your communities. Go back to your campuses. Go back to your workplaces.

On this day, I call for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case. The continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raises questions about due process that the authorities must answer. Following Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction, his right to lawful appeal must be respected, while the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously. I also repeat my call for the release of the five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts. The police have made further allegations against them; those allegations must be tested fairly. A political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian. And I make this promise to every Nigerian who has stood in line to vote and later wondered whether that vote counted: if elected President, I will work to end election rigging. I will respect INEC’s independence, support the prompt publication of results from every polling unit, and insist that anyone caught buying votes or changing results faces the law - even if that person belongs to my party. Your vote must count as you cast it. You should not need powerful friends to make it count.

Our founders did not win sovereignty so that a few could prosper while millions merely survive. Their promise lives in ordinary hopes: a meal a family can afford, a safe road home, a child free to learn, and work that offers a path to a better life. Those hopes are neither extravagant nor beyond Nigeria’s reach. Bola, the Promised Land is not in sight merely because you can see it from the villa. Nigerians must be able to reach it. We have  chosen a different course, peacefully and together, through the power of our votes; the message is clear: Tinubu must go. Happy Independence Day. May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar, GCON Presidential Candidate, African Democratic Congress.

I have the experience to lead this country, and that is what Nigeria needs now. I have done this work before. Nigerians elected me Vice President twice, in 1999 and 2003, and in government I led the reforms that returned loss-making government companies to private hands and opened our economy to private investment. I served Nigeria in the Customs Service from 1969 to 1986, and I have built businesses that today employ thousands of Nigerians, so I know how jobs are created. The two issues Nigerians care about most are restoring vitality to our economy and securing the country. My plan is clear: end insecurity, bring down the cost of living, create opportunities for every Nigerian, and uphold the rule of law. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to be who I am today. If the presidents we have had offered better leadership, I would have retired my ambition. But I cannot, in good conscience, do that when I know I have better ideas to offer. The constitution allows a four-year term, and a second term is not an automatic entitlement. I am in this race to serve.