Supporters of its presidential candidates have been advised by the African Democratic Congress to avoid adopting a “must-be-my-candidate” mentality, as this could jeopardise the party’s prospects in the 2027 elections.
Speaking at the virtual ADC Coalition Hours on Saturday, National Publicity Secretary Bola Abdullahi emphasised the value of unity in bolstering the party’s presidential bid and urged supporters to support all candidates together.
Opposition leaders hoping to run against President Bola Tinubu in the general election of 2027 selected the ADC as their coalition platform in July 2025.
Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State, joined the ADC in July, Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, in November, and Peter Obi on December 31, all of whom indicated that they intended to run for the party’s presidential ticket.
In the upcoming weeks, more candidates are anticipated to declare their candidatures in addition to these three.
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As a result, supporters of the declared ADC presidential candidates have voiced divergent opinions on zoning; the majority of Atiku supporters prefer an open contest, while many Obi supporters want the ticket to go to the South.
The National Publicity Secretary revealed that he had met with coalition members to stress the importance of cooperation, concentration, and teamwork in order to win the next elections.
According to Abdullahi, “I spent time talking to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi, who have indicated interest in vying for the presidential ticket of our party, as well as the likes of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to strengthen our party and unite it. The general consensus is that we have a job to do to make this country a better place.
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“Our leaders are all aware of the task ahead, and every one of them is committed to ensuring that we win this election.”
Speaking on the timing of the 2027 election, Abdullahi said, “Whether the elections take place this year or next year, it will be double work for us and could also work against us. It will work against us because, as an opposition, we need time to heal wounds after our primaries, as we cannot afford to go into bruised primaries and then quickly put ourselves together for the elections. On that note, we prefer next year.
“On the other hand, holding an election now has the advantage that people are already tired of this administration. But in all of this, we are not in a position to decide when the election will hold.”
He added, “Those supporting this divisiveness among supporters of any of the aspirants should stop what they are doing because they are clearly working to the advantage of the APC and President Bola Tinubu.
“Saying it is either this candidate or nothing is not helpful because getting the ticket alone means nothing. What is important is winning the election, and we cannot carry this divisiveness and expect to win.”
Abdullahi further stated that the party would begin efforts to reinforce cohesion and encourage ADC leaders to promote unity among themselves.
He continued, “We believe that all our aspirants are eminently qualified, and vilifying anybody or any region is not helpful and will only make things more difficult. We are going to commence the process of strengthening unity and having our leaders speak with one voice.
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“We are going to ignore people creating a sense of exceptionality and focus on what we are doing because we want to win this election.
“Those shouting ‘Peter Obi or nothing’ are equally not helping him. They are preaching division, and they are not selling him. They are not providing room for people from other places to support him. They should stop making others take hard stances because everyone needs to be on board for us to win this election.”
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