Coalition Party ADC raises concern over its presidential ticket between Atiku, Peter Obi

Coalition Party ADC raises concern over its presidential ticket between Atiku, Peter Obi

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised concern over what it describes as a growing “conundrum” involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi as political alignments begin to take shape ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, voiced the concern on Friday during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show.

He noted that while the Atiku–Obi situation may not be “the greatest threat to democracy,” it represents a major hurdle the party must confront as it prepares for the next electoral cycle.

According to Abdullahi, the perceived rivalry between the two politicians has created uncertainty around the ADC-led coalition. He, however, emphasized that the party is presently more focused on consolidating its national structure than on discussing potential presidential candidates.

He explained that the ADC is working to strengthen its presence across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as part of a broader strategy ahead of 2027.

Abdullahi added that although the Atiku–Obi issue is one of the matters the party will eventually need to resolve, ADC’s approach will be to build consensus first. Should that fail, the presidential ticket would be open to all aspirants.

He further clarified that the conversation is not limited to Atiku and Obi, pointing out that several other individuals have already expressed interest in running on the ADC platform.

The party, he said, is also in talks with other political groups as it explores options for forming a strong coalition before the 2027 polls.

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.”