Presidential hopefuls under the coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) will sign a pact to support whoever emerges as the party’s presidential candidate, LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered yesterday.
This is an agreement reached in principle by the contenders, who will, however, have to also define what a transparent primary election amounts to.
Former minister of transportation and a key member of the coalition party, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this to LEADERSHIP Weekend exclusively.
The party’s interim national chairman, Senator David Mark, on July 8, declared that the party had no preferred candidate and assured that under his leadership, the party would be “absolutely transparent.”
Mark made the clarification following posturing by top members of the coalition for the party’s presidential ticket.
Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, had hinted on his 2027 ambition while receiving a delegation of Gombe stakeholders at his Abuja residence last Saturday. He subsequently denied attending a meeting where he was pressured to step down for a southern aspirant.
Similarly, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in a recent interview, declared his intention to contest the presidency, adding that he had not had dialogue with anyone to be a vice presidential candidate in 2027.
While loyalists of both leaders who ran a joint ticket in 2019 have been pushing their principals’ candidacy, especially on social media, former transportation minister, Chibuike Amaechi, has also declared his intention to take another shot at the presidency in 2027 under the ADC banner.
He contested and lost the presidential ticket of the APC in 2023 to President Bola Tinubu. Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had in an interview disclosed that he had no ambition.
But former ADC presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, had alleged that the party, under the new leadership, intends to give its ticket to the North and specifically to Atiku.
His claim came against the backdrop of the contentious debate over whether or not power at the center should remain in the south or rotated to the North.
This debate was one of the key factors in the 2023 presidential election won by President Bola Tinubu of the APC which zoned its ticket to the south after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight year tenure from the North.
However, speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Amaechi clarified that the agreement to support whoever emerges candidates would revolve around a common understanding of what a transparent primary is.
The former Rivers State governor said, “What we agreed in principle, and I must say there is a need to lay the cards on the table – what we agreed is that whoever emerges from a transparent primary will be supported by everyone.
“But first, we need to sit down and define what we mean by transparent because it’s easy for someone to hijack the process and still call it transparent,” he said.
However, the national publicity secretary of ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, told LEADERSHIP that he is not aware of such an agreement.
The party spokesman however said the party is committed to providing a level playing field for aspirants.
Bolaji said, “I am not aware of any such agreement. What the party is committed to is that it will provide a level playing ground for everyone and be transparent in its dealings.”
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