Imam, Ihedioha, Abaribe, Fabiyi In Committee, Atiku, Amaechi, Obi lead fight for party ticket
Ahead of the African Democratic Congress’ first national convention next month, checks reveal that the party’s ticket will be a contest among former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Transport Minister Chibuike Amaechi.
The race for the party’s top ticket assumed a new dimension when Obi formally joined the opposition coalition platform on December 31, last year.
Atiku, Obi and Amaechi are the three top party leaders in the coalition party who have openly declared their intention to contest the 2027 presidential election.
This opposition coalition party will hold its first non-elective convention on February 12, 2026, beginning with the pre-convention activities from January 20, featuring polling units, ward, local government and state congresses.
Although the convention is more about consolidating the party’s structure and not to pick its candidate, a top party source said the gathering would be used to gauge the pulse of its members and “possibly begin the marketing of our aspirants – first to our members before we project them to the country, even though Nigerians already know who they are.”
Another party source told LEADERSHIP Sunday that before Obi agreed to formally join the party, commitments were extracted from the party about a fair and transparent primary process.
“His concern was about engaging in a process that would be manifestly free and transparent in the interest of the party,” the source said.
Obi, it was learnt, had held a series of meetings with top Northern leaders, including Prof Ango Abdullahi and others, shortly before formally joining the coalition party.
The source disclosed that PDP was not in the picture for Obi because of “the deeply rooted leadership crisis which is easy to exploit, especially through the judiciary.”
He added that Obi’s exit from the Labour Party followed the same concern.
LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that Obi had, in an interview last year, raised concerns over the lack of clarity in the party’s arrangement on how offices would be zoned.
It was gathered that while the three top aspirants are gearing up for the contest, those who might likely emerge as their running mates are lining up.
It was learnt that two former governors from the North West are among the leading contenders for the position should a southern candidate emerge.
Obi and Amaechi had, at different times, dismissed the insinuation of being a running mate to Atiku, insisting that they are out to become the party’s presidential candidate.
The running mates of Atiku and Obi in 2023, former Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, respectively, did not accompany their former principals to the ADC.
Okowa joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while Baba-Ahmed is still in the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, the ADC has maintained that it is not yet considering a zoning arrangement; rather, it is focused on building the party.
Former national publicity secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), and staunch Amaechi ally, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has asked the three leading aspirants to work together regardless of the outcome of the party primaries if the party hopes to make any impact in 2027.
He warned that if any of the aspirants decides to pull out from the collective vision and mission to reclaim governance from the APC, then Nigeria will be doomed if Tinubu gets re-elected in 2027.
“The three leading candidates are capable of turning the fortunes of this country around should any of them be voted in to lead the party.
“I expect the three candidates to work in tandem in their mission to rescue this country from the dungeon that Tinubu has put the country.
“The fact remains that ADC will not have three presidential slots but only one slot. In this regard, after the primaries, the three candidates should support whoever emerges,” he told LEADERSHIP Sunday.
On his part, former chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and national secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Chief Peter Ameh, said Obi’s entry into the ADC had injected fresh energy into the party and raised internal competition.
He said the development had undoubtedly injected fresh energy into the party and would make the contest for the ADC presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections far more competitive and fierce.
While welcoming the increased competition as a positive sign of internal democracy within the opposition, Ameh cautioned against actions that could destabilise the party, particularly on the issue of power rotation.
He said, “While we welcome the heightened competition as a healthy sign of democratic vibrancy within the opposition, CUPP wishes to sound a note of caution on a more complex and potentially divisive issue: the need to strictly adhere to the subtle but gentlemanly agreement on power rotation between the North and the South.”
Ameh warned that disregarding the zoning arrangement could have serious consequences for the ADC and the wider opposition movement.
“Any attempt to jettison or disregard this longstanding understanding will not only breed unnecessary acrimony but will haunt the entire process leading to the ADC presidential primaries.
“It risks fracturing the fragile unity that the opposition has painstakingly built to present a credible alternative to the ruling party,” he said.
Reaffirming CUPP’s commitment to equity and democratic principles, Ameh urged stakeholders within the ADC to place national interest above personal ambition.
“CUPP, as a coalition committed to fairness, equity and the strengthening of Nigeria’s democracy, urges all stakeholders in the ADC to treat national interest as more important than personal ambitions and uphold the principles of zoning and rotational presidency.
“This is the surest path to a united, formidable opposition capable of rescuing Nigeria from its current challenges,” he stated.
On his part, national president of the Nigeria Political Scientists Association (NPSA), Prof Hassan Saliu, said the party’s chances are bright if it can connect more with Nigerians and conduct seamless primaries that will be acceptable to all its contestants.
He noted that Obi’s membership of the party is good news.
“One outstanding challenge the party faces is that many of its leaders have not connected properly with ordinary Nigerians to win their hearts.
“They’re being seen as no different from members of the ruling party. This is a challenge for the party. The party needs to read the political temperature more seriously to have a good entry point.
“The chances are bright if they can connect more with Nigerians and conduct seamless primaries that will be acceptable to all its contestants. It’s risky to write off any party at this point,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ADC national leadership has constituted the constitution review committee, and the mobilisation, recalibration and registration committee.
The 21-member constitution review committee is led by Etigwe Uwa, with Barr Peter Iyeola Oyewole as deputy chairman. Other members include former Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, and Chief Ralph Nwosu, among others.
Also, the 21-member mobilisation, recalibration and registration committee is led by Kashim Imam, with Dr Sekonte Davies as deputy chairman. Other members of the committee are Abdullahi Maibasira and Hon Oladimeji Fabiyi.
The committees will be inaugurated on Wednesday and Thursday next week at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Meanwhile, a dissenting view has emerged between the camps of Atiku and Obi over whether the former Labour Party candidate should again run as Atiku’s running mate in 2027.
The disagreement followed a televised interview on Thursday in which political economist Professor Pat Utomi threatened to withdraw his support for the former Anambra State Governor if Obi agreed to take the number two slot in a potential opposition coalition.
But an Atiku ally, Dele Momodu, has opposed Utomi’s view regarding the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
Reacting via his verified X account on Friday, Momodu argued that such a rigid stance ignores the urgent need for a unified front.
He said anyone who dogmatically rejects the idea of Peter Obi serving as a vice-presidential candidate is “not a democrat.”
“Anyone insisting that Obi cannot run behind anyone is definitely not a Democrat who wishes to rescue Nigeria from a one-man dictatorship,” Momodu wrote.
While describing Utomi as “one of the brightest Nigerians I love and respect,” Momodu noted that the professor’s idealistic approach often clashes with the harsh realities of the Nigerian political landscape.
He cautioned that academic excellence does not always translate to electoral victory in a country shaped by deep-seated biases.
“My candid view is that every nation must have its own organic strategies while it may study and borrow ideas from elsewhere. The Nigerian topography is an abnormal configuration,” he explained.
He further observed that Utomi’s reliance on intellectualism over grassroots pragmatism was a recurring issue.
“This is why the above statement credited to my egbon, Pat, often breaks my heart. He seems not to have learnt from his own experience that ‘big grammar’ does not win elections.”
To support his argument, Momodu pointed to the 2023 elections, noting that the APC had a far more fascinating and cerebral Yemi Osinbajo, yet it chose Bola Ahmed Tinubu as its flagbearer in 2023.
“The key word is reality,” he said.
He also reminded Obi’s supporters that it was Atiku Abubakar who first propelled Obi into the national spotlight during the 2019 elections.
“In 2019, one visionary gentleman, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, placed Obi on the national platform against the wishes of many governors and stakeholders.
“Obi should be encouraged to be a humble party man,” he concluded.