Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Rivers State, has warned that a victory for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections would effectively end the political careers of opposition leaders. Speaking at the ADC-National Women League Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Amaechi drew on his experience in the All Progressives Congress (APC), which ousted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from federal power in 2015, to underscore the stakes.
Call for Grassroots Mobilisation by Women
Amaechi urged women to return to their home states and wards to mobilise voters, emphasising that the ADC cannot defeat the APC without mass female participation. "We, the crop of leaders you see here, will be retired from politics if the APC wins the 2027 election. So, if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home," he said.
He set a target of at least 2,000 votes per ward, arguing that volume, rather than ward-level victories, would determine the overall result. Amaechi also announced plans to campaign personally across states including Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, and Delta, focusing on governorship contests he described as inseparable from the presidential race.
Economic Hardship as Central Argument
The former minister pointed to economic hardship as a central argument for democratically removing the APC from power. He claimed that 20 million Nigerian children are currently out of school, up from between 10 and 12 million when he left government, and argued the figure reflected accelerating poverty under the current administration.
"Every week, 10 Nigerians move into poverty. If they tell you how many Nigerians have died, you'll be shocked," Amaechi said. He specifically appealed to northern women, telling them they had the numerical strength to override any election result if they came out to vote.
Titi Atiku Urges Women to Resist Intimidation
Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar also addressed the conference, urging the gathering to work for Nigeria's betterment and not be deterred by pressure or inducements. She spoke about the rising cost of everyday goods, including medicine, saying items that once cost 400 naira now go for 1,000 naira.
She acknowledged the ADC's limited financial resources but called on women to push the party's message regardless, particularly in rural communities. "Don't let them come and buy you food. And we have to go to all the corners of this Nigeria, especially to the people in the villages," she said.
Both speakers framed the 2027 election as a referendum on economic hardship, with women's grassroots participation positioned as the decisive factor in the ADC's strategy against the ruling party. Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the ADC strongly opposed a federal high court ruling directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the party and four others, describing the judgment as an attempt to use the judiciary to undermine Nigeria’s democratic process. In a statement, ADC national spokesperson Abdullahi condemned the ruling as unconstitutional and deeply troubling, noting that the decision runs contrary to established legal precedents and even conflicts with positions previously advanced by INEC on the issue of political party deregistration.
