Atiku Media Office has rubbished reports claiming that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had a meeting with stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in which he allegedly decided to “step aside and retire from active politics".

In a statement on Monday, the office described the report as entirely false and deliberately misleading.

It said the office has not, in recent times, held any such meeting with ADC stakeholders at the national level, stressing that the only recent engagement he had was with stakeholders of the ADC in Adamawa State last Thursday.

"An issue as fundamental and consequential as exiting active politics cannot, and would never, be communicated through rumours, faceless sources, or third-party fabrication. Such a decision, if ever taken, would be formally conveyed through the Atiku Media Office.

"This latest falsehood bears all the hallmarks of a coordinated disinformation campaign designed to create confusion, dampen momentum, and mislead the Nigerian public.

"Only the government and its agents could have sponsored this desperate narrative out of fear of what is coming.

"We state without equivocation that this mischief is being driven by anti-democratic elements who are deeply unsettled by the growing national consensus to rescue Nigeria from the failures of the current administration.

"We therefore urge supporters of Atiku Abubakar, members of the ADC, and all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard this fake news in its entirety and remain focused on the collective effort to reclaim and rebuild our nation," the statement read.