The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared its 2027 presidential ticket open to all members, ruling out any form of automatic candidature.
The decision, announced in a statement on Thursday, followed a caucus meeting of party leaders in Abuja. The move also marked the party’s formal abandonment of earlier efforts to register the African Democratic Alliance (ADA).
According to the ADC, the decision is aimed at deepening internal democracy and preventing divisions ahead of the general elections.
There had been speculation that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s camp, which defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ADC, planned to restrict the ticket to northern aspirants and possibly adopt him as a consensus candidate.
However, party leaders, including National Chairman David Mark, Atiku Abubakar, National Secretary Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and former governors Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), resolved that no aspirant would be excluded from the primaries.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who was absent, sent in apologies and reaffirmed his commitment to consultations and cooperation with the party.
In a statement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, confirmed that all aspirants in attendance pledged to support whoever emerges as the party’s flagbearer.
He added that the caucus restated its earlier directive requiring members to resign from other political parties, though no timeline was given. The National Working Committee (NWC) was also mandated to announce dates for governorship primaries in Osun and Ekiti states ahead of the off-cycle elections.
Quoting from the communiqué, Abdullahi said:
“The Coalition has rested everything concerning the ADA. That means, they are not interested in the registration or otherwise of the association. All the presidential aspirants have agreed to support whoever wins the primary election. Though a final order has been given to all members to resign membership of other political parties, the Caucus was silent on the timeline. The NWC will announce dates for Osun and Ekiti states for election of candidates for the off-cycle governorship elections.”
