The African Democratic Congress (ADC) constitution has ruled out the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, from contesting under the party’s platform.
This came as the party’s constitution disqualified individuals affiliated with other political parties from seeking the party’s top ticket.
Obi, who has openly identified with the ADC and declared his intention to contest the presidency in 2027, is yet to resign his membership of the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, the prospects of two other contenders, former vice president Atiku Abubakar and ex-Rivers governor Rotimi Amaechi getting the ticket appear brighter under the party, having resigned their memberships of the PDP and APC respectively.
According to the ADC’s third schedule – guidelines for the conduct of primaries, only registered, card-carrying members of the party who are not affiliated with any other political party are eligible to seek nomination for public office.
This provision, contained in Article 8 on membership, stipulates that a person “must not belong to any other political party,” and if previously affiliated, must have resigned from such membership.
This clause appears to pose a significant hurdle to Obi, who is currently the leader of the Labour Party and has not formally declared any switch to the ADC.
On the other hand, politicians like Atiku and Amaechi, though previously members of the PDP and APC respectively, may qualify with their ADC membership and are cleared by the party’s National Executive Committee.
When contacted for clarification, Obi’s media aide, Tanko Yunusa, said the former Anambra governor had not left the Labour Party.
“Well, that will be made public if he decides to do that. At the moment, he is still a member of the Labour Party,” Yunusa told LEADERSHIP Weekend yesterday.
The party emphasised the importance of deepening internal democracy by ensuring that primary elections are free, fair, and credible, reflecting the true choice of its members.
“The electoral committee of the party shall conduct primary elections that will produce credible candidates that reflect the choice of the people. Nomination of candidates for elections into public offices shall be done by members of the Party in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act,” the document stated.
The party also made it clear that it reserved the authority to adopt either direct or indirect primaries or a consensus method, as determined by the National Executive Committee.
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