Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, threw down a gauntlet before delegates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), urging the party to prioritise competence and national reach over sentiments and social media popularity as it prepares to pick a presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.
Faction Elects Kachukwu
However, a faction of the party elected Dr Dumebi Kachukwu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election. The faction, at its non-elective special national convention, also elected a new National Working Committee (NWC) with Kingsley Ogar as the chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT).
Confusion in Rivers Chapter
More confusion crept into the party as the Rivers State chapter churned out two parallel governorship candidates for the 2027 election.
Atiku dismissed social media enthusiasm as an insufficient test for the presidency, insisting that the party must field its strongest candidate to defeat President Bola Tinubu. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the ex-VP argued that with Nigeria mired in economic hardship, mounting debts, insecurity and institutional decay, the ADC could not afford the luxury of fielding an untested candidate.
“This is not a season for political experimentation. Nigeria cannot afford a learning-on-the-job president,” he declared. Without naming any rival, he took a pointed swipe at the wave of enthusiasm surrounding certain contenders, insisting that presidential contests were decided by structures, strategy and governance capacity — not digital noise.
Newly Elected National Chairman Speaks
Newly elected National Chairman of the ADC faction, Abdulkadir Mohammed, who presented Kachukwu at the party’s non-elective special national convention, explained that the choice of the former candidate was arrived at after a painstaking process during the screening.
In his acceptance address, Kachukwu, who was the ADC presidential flagbearer in the 2023 general elections, accused David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola of using the ADC as a vehicle for a vendetta against Tinubu. He accused the Mark leadership of running Nigeria aground, stressing that they lack the moral right to parade themselves as patriots. According to him, Nigerians have reached a stage of no return until the country becomes a better place.
“I will be the driver that will take Nigeria into a presidential villa and build a new Nigeria,” he stated. He blamed the All Progressives Congress (APC) for weaponising hunger, stressing that his administration would make life more meaningful by investing heavily in the educational sector for the future.
Factional NWC Adopts Constitution Amendment
The factional NWC also adopted its 2018 constitution amendment, which embodies the collective will and democratic ideas. The amendment provides clear guidelines for the convention of the party, party discipline and compliance with established procedures. Also elected through affirmation were Jonny Tobby as Vice National Vice Chairman, Kennedy Odion as National Secretary and Dr Joe Aro as National Treasurer.
In his acceptance speech, Mohammed said he had known Kachukwu as an upright and straightforward Nigerian. He expressed concern that the ADC’s guidelines and regulations were violated due to personal interests. He emphasised that the crisis stemmed from members and leaders of the party refusing to abide by the rules.
Rivers Chapter: Parallel Primaries
In Rivers, within 24 hours, separate sides of the party announced different winners of the governorship primaries, with both camps insisting their processes were valid. Political observers say the emergence of parallel candidates may trigger legal and leadership battles within the Rivers ADC unless the national leadership intervenes urgently.
Although the national leadership of the party had yet to officially clarify which faction or primary it recognises, political observers warned that the party should learn from history, saying a similar scenario played out in 2019, where the opposition party then didn’t field candidates due to “one man’s selfishness.” Political observers say the Rivers political environment has long been dominated by godfatherism, factional loyalty and elite negotiations, leaving little room for independent aspirants without deep political machinery.
Interestingly, former House of Representatives member, Farah Dagogo, emerged as the party’s candidate after a direct primary reportedly conducted across the 319 wards in the 23 local councils of the state. Chairman of the ADC Rivers Governorship Primary Electoral Committee, Dr Agu Bryan, said Dagogo polled 64,700 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Dr. Sokonte Davies, who scored 9,050 votes. Bryan noted that Prof Henry Ugboma polled 7,050 votes, Leloonu Nwibubasa 11,050 votes, Gabriel Pidomson 5,000 votes, Asita Asita polled 10,100 votes and Allen Ezekiel-Hart 9,050.
