Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has cautioned the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against fielding a northern presidential candidate in 2027, warning that such a move could prove difficult to sell in southern Nigeria.

Speaking in Kano while responding to questions on whether he would back any candidate that emerges as the party’s flagbearer, Amaechi said that although he remains loyal to the party’s decision, political realities must not be ignored.

“I will support whoever emerges. But I also advise the ADC to look around and identify the best material that can convince Nigerians that things will be turned around,” he said.

Amaechi outlined what he described as three critical considerations for the party ahead of the next general election.

“First is capacity. Second is age. Third, which is the last point, is to respect the unwritten law of power that is now in the South,” he stated.

His comments come amid ongoing debate within opposition circles over zoning and power rotation, especially as President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, is serving what many consider the first leg of an informal eight-year southern presidency arrangement spanning 2023 to 2031.

Amaechi argued that respecting the current power dynamics would make mobilisation easier across regions.

“They should conclude that and then transfer power to the North. It makes it easier for those of us from the South to say we are going to compete because the North has said, ‘finish all this’,” he said.

He warned that presenting a northern candidate at a time when many southerners believe power should remain in the South could weaken the party’s appeal.

“If you elect somebody from the North, I’m not saying we won’t campaign, but it will be difficult to convince the South to give up power because they will ask the North, ‘Why is it that it’s only when power comes to the South that there is a problem?’” Amaechi added.

Despite his reservations, he reaffirmed his commitment to party unity.

“Whether it is a southerner or a northerner is immaterial; I will support whoever emerges at the primary,” he declared.

Amaechi, who has already indicated interest in the ADC presidential ticket, pledged that if elected, he would serve only a single four-year term to allow power rotate back to the North.

Similarly, another presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, has also reiterated his readiness to serve a single term if given the party’s mandate, in keeping with the spirit of zoning.

The former minister’s comments came a day after former Kaduna State governor and ADC chieftain, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, restated the party’s opposition to zoning its presidential ticket.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, widely seen as a frontline aspirant within the ADC, has also said the party would not zone its nomination.

With 2027 still some distance away, the battle lines within the opposition are gradually forming, and as Amaechi’s intervention suggests, the question of where the next presidential ticket should go may prove as decisive as who eventually carries it. (The Sun)