There is no automatic presidential ticket for any aspirant in 2027, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) clarified yesterday.

According to the party, while the consensus option would be adopted in selecting the standard bearer, members would resort to open, competitive and transparent primary, if the option fails.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who spoke on a national television, noted the growing speculation, intrigues, coalition negotiations and the defection of prominent politicians from other parties to the ADC.

However, he said that no decision has been taken on who will fly the presidential ticket, adding that all aspirants are eligible.

Abdullahi stressed: “No conversation is going on at the moment about who will be the standard bearer or who will be running mate to who. Every single issue has not been resolved regarding who will fly the flag of the party in 2027.”

Already, two chieftains, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who joined the party last week, are believed to be eyeing the ticket.

Although the Atiku camp has maintained silence on his ambition, members of the Obedient Movement, who are Obi’s followers, declared yesterday that he would not play the second fiddle.

The Obidient Movement’s National Coordinator, Dr. Yinusa Tanko, said Obi is the leading aspirant who will never accept to be running mate to anybody in the party.

The Publicity Secretary said that when the time comes, the first option would be consensus, driven by the need to build a broad-based and winning coalition.

He added: “But when that time comes, we are going to have a position, and our first recourse will be to try to engineer a measure of consensus based on the challenges that we have ahead of us. We are building a coalition, and we are building a winning coalition.”

Abdullahi said if consensus proves impossible, the party would not hesitate to conduct a primary that meet democratic standards.

He said: “If that doesn’t happen, of course, we are going to have competitive primary, and it’s going to be free, it’s going to be open, and it’s going to be transparent, and every Nigerian will see that this is the direction that ADC wants to go, as a party of rules, as a party that is transparent, that obeys its own laws and regulation.”

Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication Daniel Bwala and Tanko expressed contrasting views on the Obi’s chances.

While Tanko insisted that the former governor would not accept the offer of running mate, Bwala predicted that the ticket and the running mate slot will elude him.

The presidential aide added that the former governor would eventually contest for president on another platform.

Obi, who ran on the platform of the crisis-ridden Labour Party (LP) in 2023, defected to the ADC last week.

Justifying the defection in Enugu, where he was received into the party by the Interim National Chairman, Senator David Mark, he explained that he was motivated by the quest for national unity.

In its reaction, the Anambra LP said his exit would not weaken the chapter, adding that members would not also miss him.

Obi will get ADC ticket, says Tanko

Tanko, who spoke on a radio programme monitored in Ibadan, Oyo State, dismissed speculations that the ADC is under the influence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying that “everybody that was in that particular coalition contributed their hard-earned momone”

He added: “I am only focusing on my candidate. I’m selling my candidate to the public based on his capacity and credibility and what he has to offer Nigerians. That’s all.”

Tanko said Obi is capable of providing a “moral solution” to the country’s leadership challenges.

He emphasized that Obi’s alignment with the ADC followed extensive consultations, reflecting a people-driven strategy rather than personal ambition.

Tanko stressed: “The decision to align with the ADC came from a conglomerate of diverse groups seeking to correct Nigeria’s problems and reclaim the country for its people.

“When they came together, the ADC was chosen as the political vehicle. Ordinarily, Peter Obi would flow with the people who are calling for him.”

The coordinator said that young Nigerians involved in the process would determine Obi’s political path.

Defending Obi’s nomadic movement in politics, Tanko said structural challenges within the LP necessitated the shift.

He added: “Forces in power deliberately undermined the party’s functionality. If your house is being deliberately set on fire, would you remain inside it? There was a calculated attempt to destroy what was being built.

“Politics is a game of numbers, and that larger coalition was already evident in this grouping.”

Tanko said Obi’s chances are measured on his own viability and electability, adding: “Politics has no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. The interest here is good governance, and Peter Obi represents that.”

On Obi’s one-term pledge, Tanko said it is a promise to Nigerians, not just a political party.

He stressed: “If elected in 2027, Peter Obi would complete the remaining four years for the South and return power to the North. This demonstrates credibility and national unity.”

Bwala: Tickets will elude Obi

Bwala said Obi would be denied both the presidential ticket and running mate slot in ADC.

Speaking in an interview on The Clarity Zone Podcast, Bwala claimed that Obi lacks the capacity to serve as director-general of any coalition movement.

He said Obi lost control of the political structure he built after the 2023 election, including his influence in the National Assembly.

Bwala said: “After the election, he lost everybody he was leading. He had members in the House of Representatives. How many are there in the National Assembly?

“The only governor he had, is the governor with him or with us? In fact, I have not seen one that identifies with him at the moment. All the elections where he supported candidates, all of them failed.

“The army of Trojans that he has on social media, they attack people. They say you are two-faced, that you change party. That’s what they do every day.

“But when you say their master and hero has been changing party like a player in the Premier League changes clubs every season, they don’t like it.”

The presidential aide also accused Obi of hypocrisy over party loyalty, saying that he has switched political platforms repeatedly.

Bwala stressed: “He started with PDP, then went to APGA. In APGA, he came back to PDP. From PDP, he went to Labour.

“Right now, when you hear people talk about being between the devil and the deep blue sea, he is between ADC and Labour.

“He will not be the presidential candidate; he will not be the vice-presidential candidate. Peter Obi is going to run on a platform other than Labour and other than ADC.”

Bwala further said Obi will not secure even a quarter of the votes he recorded in the 2023 presidential election.

‘Obi’s exit won’t weaken LP in Anambra’

Anambra LP said the exit of Obi will not affect its future electoral fortune.

The chairman, Comrade Peter Okoye, said in a. statement that is solid, united and well-positioned for the 2027 general election.

The only LP member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Murphy Osaro Omoruyi, has defected to the ADC.

Omoruyi, who represents Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Constituency, said he obeyed the voice of his constituents to leave the LP.

He said: “In spite of all efforts, the intractable crises rocking Labour Party has made my continued stay in the party, practically impossible.

“I joined the new coalition of the African Democratic Congress sequel to my resignation from the Labour Party conveyed in a letter to my ward chairman, Ward 10, Egor Local Government Area on the 30th December, 2025 which had since been accepted.”

Obi, ADC leaders visit Nwobodo

ADC leaders, led by Obi, visited former Anambra State Governor Jim Nwobodo at his Amaechi Awkunawnaw, Enugu country home.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Senator Ben Obi described Nwobodo as the “godfather of Southeast politics.”

Nwobodo spoke with fondness about Obi, recalling their shared relationships.

He reflected on the place of the Igbo in Nigeria’s political history, expressing hope that the aspiration for an Igbo presidency would one day be realised.

He said: “We are one of the people that formed this country called Nigeria. We still pray to God that one day an Igbo man will be the president of Nigeria.” (The Nation)

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