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PRESS STATEMENT IN 1993, I LAID ABTI’S FOUNDATION; TINUBU FORFEITED $460,000 IN THE U.S. — ATIKU Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s latest attack on his investment in education, describing it as a desperate attempt to distract Nigerians from the failure of his administration. In a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said: “Again, Bola Tinubu has told Nigerians why they should not allow him to continue as president after his first tenure. He also chose to question my investment in education and ask how I built an educational institution while serving as Vice President. “The answer is simple: my investment in education predates my time in public service. In 1993, while a U.S. court ordered the forfeiture of funds in an account in your name, describing them as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or funds involved in unlawful financial transactions, I was laying the foundation for ABTI Academy. That Academy has since grown into the American University of Nigeria. “That moment captures the difference between us. My history is traceable. I can show Nigerians how I built my name, achieved success in business and entered public leadership. Your own history remains clumsy and foggy. You cannot erase it by attacking my record in education. “A president who has plunged the country into a crushing cost-of-living crisis has no business asking Nigerians for another mandate. The real conversation about the 2027 election is how to repair the damage your government has done. “You say Nigeria cannot return to subsidy and must move forward. But you cannot even tell Nigerians where you are taking them. Forward into deeper poverty, mounting debt, insecurity and mass unemployment? “Since your inauguration in 2023, your leadership has become synonymous with hardship, pain and despair. Your record is a working example of how a country should not be led. You have created poverty on an industrial scale, pushing more than 79 million Nigerians into extreme poverty. “Your campaign’s Director-General says hungry Nigerians are simply lazy. He delivered that statement in grammar so badly constructed it could wake the dead. This government does not even believe Nigerians are hungry. How can you solve a problem you refuse to acknowledge? “You created poverty, then insult the people suffering from it. You attack my Affordable Life campaign, but the people you are really attacking are the millions of Nigerians desperate for relief from your failed leadership. “Bola, Nigerians have tested your leadership. The verdict is clear: you are a disaster. In Yoruba culture, I am told, a calabash of pepper represents hostile leadership, while a calabash of honey represents hospitable leadership. Yours is a calabash of pepper. “You say Nigeria will never return to subsidised petrol prices. You are wrong. By the grace of the Almighty and with the mandate of the Nigerian people, I will restore a transparent, production-based subsidy tied to the local refining of fuel. Nigerians will benefit directly through lower energy costs, including the prices of petrol and diesel. “My administration will make deliberate investments in social welfare and end the opaque system your government uses to divert money meant for economically vulnerable Nigerians. “You attack my campaign because you know what it represents: an alternative to the hardship you have imposed on the people. You want me off the ballot at all costs, but the will of the Nigerian people will prevail. I will be on that ballot, and I will beat you decisively. “After three and a half years in office, you have no achievements to campaign on. Your own record of failure is the strongest campaign against you. My Affordable Life campaign will not be silenced by your insults or your threats. I will lead Nigeria back to prosperity, growth and development.”

PRESS STATEMENT THE PANIC IS REAL — ATIKU The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned Thursday’s court judgment purporting to remove Senator David Mark’s leadership of the party, describing it as a calculated attempt to weaken the ADC and frustrate his candidacy. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the timing of the judgment was telling. It came barely a day after a mammoth crowd turned out in Sokoto to welcome him and attend the launch of the ADC campaign. “The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again. What we witnessed in Sokoto is only the beginning. The people of Kebbi will have their say, and so will Nigerians across the country as our campaign moves forward. “My roots are in Northern Nigeria, but my candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. There is a difference between being from the North and being a candidate only for the North. Hunger and hardship do not respect regional boundaries. Nigerians across the country are suffering under this government, and they deserve a leader with a credible plan to make life affordable again. “The timing of this judgment is no coincidence. It is part of a strategy to weaken my support in the North and frustrate a campaign whose message is resonating across the country. But the ruling party’s greatest miscalculation is to assume that my support ends in the North. What we saw in Sokoto, what we will see in Kebbi and across the country, is the strength of a national movement.” Atiku said the judgment also raises serious legal concerns. “Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court had already dismissed the challenge to the David Mark-led leadership in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025. The court upheld the defendants’ objections on jurisdiction, standing and the failure to exhaust internal party remedies, and resolved the substantive issues in their favour. Why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgment. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal.” Atiku urged ADC supporters to remain calm and law-abiding and not to let the judgment weaken the momentum generated in Sokoto. The campaign train is already in Kebbi and will continue across the country. “Our journey to rescue Nigeria from the hardship imposed by the APC government is a long one. Our Affordable Life campaign will continue because Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis. We urge our supporters to remain resolute, take our message from house to house and door to door, and stay peaceful and focused. There is no shaking.” Signed: Phrank Shaibu Director of Strategic Communication ADC Presidential Campaign Council Birnin Kebbi 5th November 2026

NOVEMBER 3, 2026 PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ADC WARNS SOKOTO STATE GOVERNMENT: YOU CANNOT INTIMIDATE US Says Governor will be held personally responsible for violence against opposition. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned the Sokoto State Government against continued interference with the party’s campaign activities in the state, declaring that the State Governor would be held personally responsible for any violence against the opposition in his state. In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, the ADC condemned what it described as a growing spate of political obstruction in Sokoto State as the opposition party prepares to launch its campaign in the State, describing such actions as a deliberate attempt to intimidate the opposition and undermine the democratic rights of Nigerians. “The Sokoto State Government must understand that governing a State does not confer ownership. Public office is a temporary mandate from the people, not a licence to suppress political competition. No governor has the power to decide which party can campaign, which candidate can speak, or which political choices the people of Sokoto are allowed to consider,” the party said. The ADC described the alleged interference with its campaign activities as political sabotage and a direct assault on the constitutional rights of opposition parties to organise and mobilise support ahead of the elections. “We call on the Sokoto State Government to immediately end all efforts to frustrate our lawful political activities and guarantee a level playing field for all political parties. We also remind security agencies and other public institutions that their responsibility is to the Constitution and the Nigerian people, not to the political interests of the party in power.” The party warned that public officials who abuse their authority and obstruct lawful political activities must be prepared to face the consequences of their actions under the law, no matter how long it takes. “Let there be no misunderstanding. The ADC will campaign in Sokoto State. We will not be intimidated, obstructed or pushed out of any part of Nigeria simply because those in power are afraid of political competition. Democratic participation is not a privilege to be granted by a governor. It is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.” The ADC further stated that the growing intolerance of the ruling party towards opposition activities reflects its fear of facing the electorate in a free and fair contest. “If the ruling party believes it has served the people well, it should have nothing to fear from an open contest. Intimidation cannot manufacture public support, and obstruction cannot take away the people’s right to choose their leaders. The people of Sokoto, like all Nigerians, deserve the opportunity to listen to competing ideas and make their own decisions.” The party called on its members, supporters and the people of Sokoto State to remain peaceful and law-abiding, while insisting that it would continue to defend its right to campaign freely in every part of the country. “The future of Sokoto belongs to the people of Sokoto, not to any governor or political party. No government has the right to veto democracy,” the statement concluded. SIGNED: Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi National Publicity Secretary African Democratic Congress (ADC)

PRESS STATEMENT ATIKU WAS RIGHT: TINUBU’S $20.52BN LOAN BID VALIDATES HIS WARNING — IT’S A CAMPAIGN SLUSH FUND Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion vindicates his October 12 warning about a loan plan of up to $20 billion. Atiku said the President’s failure to identify the specific projects the loans would fund raises serious concerns that borrowed public money could be channelled through the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, now rerouted inland, to political campaigners and favoured contractors. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said: “On October 12, I warned Nigerians that President Tinubu was reportedly preparing to borrow up to $20 billion in connection with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. I asked him to confirm or deny the plan and publish the accounts. He did neither. Today, he has asked the Senate to approve $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion in external loans. My warning has been vindicated. “The President has listed broad sectors but has not provided a project by project account of what this enormous borrowing will fund. Nigerians have not been given clear project details, costs, locations or contractors to scrutinise. “That silence is especially troubling given the highway’s inland rerouting. Nigerians have every right to ask whether it is becoming a pipeline for borrowed money to reach Tinubu’s campaigners and favoured contractors. Barely 12 weeks before an election, how can the President ask lawmakers to saddle Nigerians with more than $20 billion and €1 billion in debt without identifying the projects and their costs? Is this a development plan for Nigerians or a campaign financing scheme dressed up as infrastructure? “You cannot continue taking frivolous loans on the eve of your departure from office. Let it be on record that one of the first responsibilities I will undertake as President is to scrutinise and investigate every kobo borrowed, especially loans taken in the final year of your tenure. Nigerians will ask questions, and we will find the answers by every lawful means. “I put local and international lenders on notice: any loan granted to this winding down administration must meet all constitutional, statutory and due process requirements. Upon assumption of office, I will scrutinise every such loan. Any borrowing found to have been obtained without proper authorisation or process will be challenged and will not be allowed to stand. “The National Assembly must not approve a single dollar until the President publishes every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation. No public money should be borrowed in the dark, and no lawmaker should sign a blank cheque against Nigeria’s future.” Atiku said the burden was on Tinubu to prove that the borrowing would serve the country, not his political interests. He urged lawmakers to publish the proposal and supporting documents and subject them to rigorous scrutiny before any decision. He added that families already struggling with a cost of living crisis should not be made to carry debts they did not approve. The woman fighting to keep her business alive and the worker spending their income just to feed deserve to know where the money is going, who will benefit and who will pay. At the ballot box, Nigerians will have the chance to reject a government that borrows against their future while taking their sacrifices for granted. Signed: Phrank Shaibu Director, Strategic Communication ADC Presidential Campaign Council 27th October 2026