• Opposition coalition pledges fair ground for Atiku, Obi, Amaechi, others

• Dele Momodu quits PDP, Kachikwu warns Obi against accepting VP slot

As speculations intensify over who emerges as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections, the party’s leadership has insisted its immediate priority is to build a strong ideological base before endorsing any individual for the nation’s top office.

Amid growing support for political heavyweights such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, the ADC’s interim leadership said it would not be drawn into what it described as “premature agitations.”

Interim National Chairman of the party, David Mark, had, at various times, insisted that the new coalition had no favourite presidential candidate amid reports that Atiku, Obi and Amaechi were frontrunners for the party’s ticket for the 2027 election.

Mark assured Nigerians that the party would maintain complete transparency under his leadership, after the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, had accused the Mark-led interim leadership of the party of being biased in favour of Atiku.

Mark stated, “The ADC has no preferred or favourite presidential aspirant but has set out to first put out a platform that would be attractive and acceptable to the majority of Nigerians.

“We are doing this because we do not want this great ship called Nigeria to sink, because if we do not rise, and now, they will sink all of us.

“I don’t own this party more than any of our members, and I urge all members to prepare to show Nigerians that ADC is a different party.”

Addressing the continued agitations on the party’s presidential candidate on Thursday, interim National Publicity Secretary of ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party was focused on crafting a unified manifesto to which all candidates, irrespective of status, must adhere.

Abdullahi said the party was poised not to toe the line of what he described as “aberration” where candidates, upon their emergence as standard bearers, begin to craft their manifesto not guided by their party.

The ADC publicity secretary avowed that the party was poised to structure a strong political party that disciplined its members and ensured that its members aligned with the party’s ideals.

Abdullahi said, “ADC is building a strong political party that can discipline its members. That’s where other parties got it wrong. A party must be able to discipline its members.

“In the Second Republic, no matter how useless a Unity Party of Nigeria governor was, he must do free education, that’s an example of a party that’s able to discipline its members, no matter how highly placed, that’s what we are trying to build.

“I’ll give you one indicator, normally, when a candidate emerges on the platform of a political party, whether contesting for the office of governor or President, that’s when the individual candidate will start talking about how he will develop his manifesto, but that’s an aberration.

“What the ADC is doing now is to develop its manifesto and programme that addresses the needs of the Nigerian people. So, whoever is elected under the party platform, the party is the one handing the candidate the party manifesto and holding the candidate accountable based on that alone.”

On when the ADC would pick its presidential candidate, Abdullahi reiterated focus on building the party but stated that it had one eye on aligning with the guidelines and calendar of the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Abdullahi added that the ADC would provide a transparent process guided by INEC’s timetable and would not “pick” candidates behind closed doors.

“We are not going to pick a candidate. We are going to provide a level playing field for all aspirants in a transparent manner that will inspire the confidence of all concerned,” Abdullahi added.

“We are new and strengthening the party, nobody is having the conversation about who will be the party bearer, the most important thing is to build a strong political party that will be able to provide a very virile opposition and give hope to Nigerians.

“Who will be the party bearer is a question that will be answered down the line. When that time comes, we are sure that justice will be done to everyone and everyone has had the opportunity to express themselves.”

Despite this position, agitation within the party continues, with supporters of Atiku and Obi already pushing for an early endorsement. There are reports that Atiku’s camp is lobbying Obi to accept a vice-presidential slot to strengthen the party’s electoral chances.

However, this has drawn sharp criticism from former ADC presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, who warned Obi against playing second fiddle in any alliance.

At a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Kachikwu described such a move as politically immoral and a betrayal of the South’s rightful claim to the Presidency after eight years of northern rule under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The politician described any such alliance as unjust and politically immoral, especially in light of Nigeria’s power rotation dynamics.

“It is morally right for anybody from a major party running for 2027 to be from the South. It is equitable. That is all we ask,” he said.

The ADC chieftain accused northern political actors of plotting to retain power in the region even though the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, spent eight years in office before the current administration.

“In the last two weeks, they have been boasting, insulting, and saying they want to chase President Bola Tinubu from office. The question I always ask people around me is, at the end of all the insults being passed on to the President, what next?”

Kachikwu expressed concern over alleged attempts to manipulate Obi into accepting a vice-presidential slot under Atiku.

“Instead, what we are seeing is recruiting people around Peter Obi to keep singing into his ears that he can’t do it. They are striving to convince him to instead accept to become Atiku’s vice presidential candidate.

“What manner of rubbish is that? He must not accept it. That is their strategy,” he said.

Backing Obi’s credentials to stand independently, Kachikwu added, “Obi has all it takes to aspire and win an election. He has the brain. They told me that too, that as an Igbo man, I don’t have what it takes to become President. Why? Don’t I pay my taxes? So, why can’t I aspire for the highest office in the land?”

He stressed that any political coalition aimed at unseating Tinubu must originate from the South and be grounded in equity and national unity.

Kachikwu also slammed efforts to hijack the ADC structure through inducements, alleging that some state chairmen were being offered bribes to step down.

“They are offering some of the state chairmen as much as N20m to resign their positions, which goes to show that their intentions are not honourable,” he alleged