The African Democratic Congress has expressed concern over what it described as the emerging “conundrum” surrounding former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the statement on Friday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, noting that the issue, though not the “greatest threat to democracy,” remains a significant challenge the party must address.
The presidential ambitions of both Atiku and Obi have cast doubts over the ADC coalition.
Abdullahi said the ADC is currently focused on strengthening its structures nationwide rather than discussing potential presidential candidates.
He explained that the party is working to establish a strong presence across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as part of its preparations for the election cycle.
According to him, while the Atiku-Obi question is one of the matters the party must eventually resolve, the ADC will prioritise building consensus when the time comes. If consensus fails, he added, the contest would be open to all aspirants.
Abdullahi clarified that the race is not centred solely on Atiku and Obi, as other individuals have also indicated interest in seeking the party’s presidential ticket, noting that the ADC is exploring multiple options, including discussions with other political parties, to form a formidable coalition ahead of 2027.
He said: “I may not describe the situation in such superlative terms to say that it’s the greatest threat to democracy at the moment. But is it a conundrum? Yes. Is it a challenge? Yes. Is it something we are concerned about? Yes.
“We have also tried to maintain that it’s not just about Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. Nobody in the ADC at this time is having conversation about who the presidential candidates will be. So we have so much work to do – to establish our presence, real presence; to be in a position to contest election in all the 36 states of the Federation and FCT.
“So this has preoccupied us in the last couple of months, but we know that is an issue we have to deal with. The most important thing is at this time, when we get to that point, we try to engineer consensus – a consensus, which is an option for us, but if we are not able to do a consensus, then we’ll possibly just open it up for everyone to contest.
“And it’s not just about Atiku and Peter Obi, there are other people who are also interested in contesting the presidential race. You know, so we have to make allowance for that. It’s not a central case between Atiku and Peter Obi.
“I agree with you it’s an option. But there are also other options that we are looking at, even within the other political parties that we are also having conversation about how to build a formidable coalition to see what is possible.”
