ADC working to adopt consensus for presidential candidate — Abdullahi

2026-03-29 - 13:55

The African Democratic Congress says it is actively working towards adopting a consensus approach in selecting its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, describing it as the most practical and cost-effective option available to the party. National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this during an appearance on Arise TV’s One-on-One programme on Saturday, explaining that the party had narrowed its candidate selection options to direct primaries and consensus, following amendments to the Electoral Act that took indirect primaries off the table. “We are trying as much as possible to adopt the consensus approach because that is the least costly for us. For us, the best case scenario is to be able to engineer consensus and that’s what we are working on,” he said. The ADC spokesperson’s comments come as the party continues to attract high-profile figures ahead of 2027, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi among the presidential hopefuls on the ADC platform. Abdullahi also turned his attention to the ruling All Progressives Congress, delivering a stinging assessment of the party’s internal cohesion and long-term viability, arguing that it was held together solely by President Bola Tinubu’s political influence. “If you take power out of APC, APC is actually nothing. I know the party well. Post Bola Tinubu, they will unravel quickly, that even they would be surprised. He is the glue holding the party together,” he said. He described the APC as a “special purpose vehicle” designed to deliver the presidencies of the late Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu, arguing that the party had largely served that purpose and had little ideological substance beyond it. Pointing to what he described as the APC’s apparent anxiety ahead of the 2027 elections, Abdullahi questioned why a party with 31 governors and near-total control of the National Assembly was still unsettled by the opposition’s growing momentum. “In any free and fair election in Nigeria today, there’s no way APC will win. Why is a party with 31 governors and about 90 percent of the national assembly still panicking? Why are they still trying to destabilise other opposition parties? They should be preparing for Tinubu’s win given their overwhelming governance. But they are unsettled because they know in a free and fair election, there is no way they can win. Nigerians are tired of them,” he said.