Barely one week after the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, announced former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, as his vice presidential candidate, the party may be headed for another crisis.

Checks revealed that party chieftains loyal to Atiku and supporters of Amaechi were quarrelling over the choice of the VP candidate, as the former called for his replacement.

However, Atiku’s camp has explained the delay in unveiling Amaechi as their principal’s running mate for the 2027 general election.

Meanwhile, a chieftain ADC in Katsina State, Mustapha Inuwa, warned that party supporters are beginning to lose confidence in the party as the dispute over its governorship candidate selection process remains unresolved.

The Guardian gathered that while both parties to the simmering trouble in ADC are maintaining studied silence, Amaechi’s supporters have convinced him to proceed with a court case against the ADC presidential primary if his name was not uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) portal by June 27.

On June 5, the National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed that Amaechi had been chosen as Atiku’s running mate, describing the AA pairing as a “unity and rescue” ticket.

However, no sooner than Amaechi’s choice was made public than Atiku’s loyalists started kicking against his nomination, contending that he was being propelled by associates of former President Muhammadu Buhari from the All Progressives Congress (APC) bloc.

Further, Atiku’s allies, largely drawn from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) splinter, alleged that Amaechi demonstrates unyielding independence that would make it impossible for them (Atiku’s inner men) to find relevance in the emerging scheme of things.

According to a former prominent member of the Buhari administration, Atiku’s supporters were incensed by the hasty manner in which some ADC leaders pressured the former VP to concede to the conditionalities tabled by Amaechi, including the management of Presidential campaigns.

On the delay in unveiling the VP nominee, Atiku’s camp attributed the delay to Atiku’s travel schedule.

In a post on X, one of Atiku’s media aides, Abdulrasheed Shehu, however, did not reveal the country his principal travelled to.

The clarification came against the backdrop of a post on X asserting that all was not well within the ADC and that Amaechi was yet to accept the party’s offer.

In a swift response, Atiku’s aide wrote: “Atiku/Amaechi is settled. His Excellency is on a short business trip. Once he returns, Amaechi will be officially unveiled as the VP candidate in a few days. Stop posting fake news.”

Inuwa, a former Secretary to the Katsina State Government and governorship aspirant, during a meeting with his supporters in Katsina, yesterday, accused party leaders of failing to address complaints over the conduct of the party’s primaries.

The ADC chieftain said his camp had previously raised concerns with the party leadership but had yet to receive a response, prompting another round of consultations with supporters.A

“The party that people have confidence and hope in is the party that is starting with this kind of mess. It is really unfortunate,” Inuwa said. People are disappointed. People are beginning to lose hope in ADC.” (The Guardian)

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