African Democratic Congress, on Saturday, warned supporters of its presidential aspirants against insisting on a “must-be-my-candidate” mindset, stressing that such divisive loyalty could undermine the party’s chances in the 2027 elections.
National Publicity Secretary, Bola Abdullahi, who sounded this note of warning during the virtual ADC Coalition Hours on Saturday, urged supporters to back all aspirants collectively.
He stressed the importance of unity in strengthening the party’s presidential bid.
In July 2025, the ADC became the coalition platform adopted by opposition figures seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Since then, under the leadership of former Senate President, David Mark, as National Chairman and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary, the party has been strengthening its structures nationwide and working to gain the trust and support of Nigerians.
Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, joined the ADC in July, followed by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in November, and Peter Obi on December 31, all signalling their intention to contest for the party’s presidential ticket.
Beyond these three, additional aspirants are expected to announce their candidacies in the coming weeks.
As a result, supporters of the declared ADC presidential hopefuls have expressed differing views on zoning, with many Obi supporters calling for the ticket to go to the South, while most Atiku supporters advocate an open contest.
The National Publicity Secretary disclosed that he had met with coalition stakeholders to emphasise the need for unity, focus and collective commitment to secure victory in the upcoming 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.
“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 said 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.
“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.”
