•Waziri Adamawa has structure, network to triumph —Paul Ibe •Ex-Rivers gov’s target is to defeat Tinubu —Eze

•I’m fresh candidate with no baggage —Hayatu-Deen

Three prominent aspirants will now slug it out on Monday, May 25, 2026 to secure the presidential ticket of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) at the primary election.

They are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; a former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; and a famous economist and banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

The three aspirants have been screened by a panel led by a former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke.

Abdulfatah Ahmed-led Presidential Election Committee has Prof. Yisa Gana as Secretary, alongside Maj.-Gen. Adamu Jalingo, Dr Auwalu Anwar, Chief Emenike Ikechi, Dr. Macaulay Iyare, Tajudeen Bakare, Elder Ubolo Itodo Okpanachi, Zainab Buba Galadima, Uzoamaka Onyeama, and Maj.-Gen Muhammad Inuwa Idris as members.

The party has also constituted a Presidential Appeals Committee chaired by Dr. Suleiman Usman, SAN, with Barr. Ken Imasuagbon serving as Secretary, while Barr. Dare Okerade will serve as member.

In interview with Nigerian Tribune, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the electoral officers had been deployed across the country.

He expressed hope for seamless, free and fair primary election, adding that the three contenders had committed to accept the outcome of the poll.

He said, “Mercifully, all of them have committed to the party, that regardless of the outcome, they are not going to leave the party. So, that is a good one and it is quite gracious and commendable. It shows that they are democrats who are committed to democracy, whether internal democracy of the party or the country itself.

“But we have two options. According to Electoral Act, we have two options. One is to engineer consensus. The second one is to conduct direct primaries. For us as ADC, we always try to engineer consensus where that is possible. But if that fails, then we will go to direct primaries and let party members across the country decide who should be their flag bearer. So, I don’t see how that will lead to any crisis that you are seeing,” he said during an exclusive interview to seek his response to the possibility of division over consensus candidacy.

Waziri Adamawa has structure, network to triumph – Paul Ibe

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune on the chances of Atiku and why ADC members should consider him over other aspirants, Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said the Waziri Adamawa has the structure and network to triumph over Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen.

He said Atiku’s experience in the public and private sector and pan-Nigerian view gave him an edge over other contenders.

Ibe expressed optimism about the chances of his principal at the presidential primary election now rescheduled for Monday.

He said, “Yes, we are not taking anything away from Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen. He is an accomplished banker. And former governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Rotimi Amaechi, is accomplished. There is no doubt about it.

“But His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, stands out. He is in a class of his own. And I think that is what he is bringing to the table. For several years, he worked in public service and private sector, birthing companies and delivering dividends to investors. He created thousands of jobs. With his experience as a former Vice President, he is well-versed in policy articulation and policy formulation. He knows the ‘in and out’ of running government.

“And even more importantly, the network that he has is even an asset. He has the network across the country since the days of the leadership of late Tafida, (Shehu) Yar’Adua and is intact. It was Atiku Abubakar that set up the structure of Yar’adua in the South East. And that was the beginning of the partnership that Atiku has in the South East. That network cut across every nook and cranny of Nigeria. That is the kind of man Atiku Abubakar is. So, the expectation is that if you have that kind of network, you can bring people together.

“Of course, he has the capacity to set up teams as we have during the Obasanjo era. He can sort best brains both domestically and in diaspora wherever they are. That is the kind of man Atiku Abubakar is. Of course, you and I know that political activity is about structures, and networking. And he has this. He is experienced, competent, and capable. Atiku Abubakar is pan-Nigerian. There are few politicians that have this across Nigeria. And he cares less about your status. He needs the best around him, irrespective of their background. He represents every section of Nigeria. Since the party needs a candidate to defeat the incumbent, be it consensus or direct primary, his chances are bright.”

Ex-Rivers gov’s target is to defeat Tinubu – Eze

Also speaking, a close ally of the former governor of Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said Amaechi has in various fora stated that he didn’t spend a whopping sum of N90 million to purchase the ADC Presidential Form just for fanfare, stressing that he is the best candidate for the topmost office in order to put things right.

He said the former minister of transportation is aware of the caliber and personalities of both Atiku Abubakar and Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen and what they represent but feels that after directing the Presidential Campaign Organisation of late President Muhammadu Buhari on two occasions that unseated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the centre, occupying the offices of the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years, the Governor of Rivers State for eight years and a Minister of the FRN for over seven years, he has acquired the capacity to win the ADC Presidential ticket.

Eze said, “His target actually is not the ADC Presidential ticket per se, which he feels that he will secure; his target is to face and defeat President Tinubu at least to prove to him that his victory during the 2023 APC Presidential Primaries was fluke and not real.”

On why the ADC members should vote for him, the media aide said he maintained that his feats and achievements as the Speaker and Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria’s Best Minister of decade are enough reasons for him to be voted in accordingly.

“If the ADC as a political party is actually serious about giving Nigerians sound electoral reform and erasing insecurity, banditry, Boko Haram, corruption and wickedness in governance, then ADC should do the needful and grant her ticket to Amaechi,” he added.

I’m fresh candidate with no baggage —Hayatu-Deen

Addressing hundreds of young Nigerians on Thursday in Abuja, Hayatu-Deen, who completed the ADC presidential screening process on Wednesday, challenged the party to present what he described as “a fresh candidate” capable of defeating the ruling APC and restoring public confidence in governance.

“The ADC will decide whether it is truly serious about winning, whether it is prepared to offer Nigerians a real alternative, and whether it is ready to present a candidate who understands the pain people are living through every day,” he stated.

He said the 2027 election must become a defining moment for a new generation determined to reject “recycled politics and recycled promises”.

Hayatu-Deen warned that the party risks losing credibility if it embraces what he called “the same old politics”.

“The only way to defeat a fatigued APC is with a fresh candidate. I am that candidate. I carry no baggage. I owe no political godfathers. I am not a product of factional wars,” he said.

He insisted that the country’s problem is not a lack of talent, but a failure of leadership.

“The problem has never been the young people of Nigeria. The problem has been leadership, leadership that failed to plan, leadership that failed to invest, leadership that normalised suffering and then told Nigerians this was simply how things are,” he said.

Hayatu-Deen, who said the country’s political leadership had failed young people through years of poor planning, weak governance, and economic neglect, called on young Nigerians and ADC delegates to mobilise massively ahead of the party’s presidential primary.

“Vote for jobs. Vote for safer communities. Vote for leadership with calmness, discipline, and competence. Vote for a Nigeria that finally puts its young people first,” Hayatu-Deen said.

Profile of ADC presidential aspirants

Atiku Abubakar

The 79-year-old Waziri Adamawa, who served as the second elected Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is a frontrunner in the race for the ADC presidential ticket, having run for the presidency at least six times (1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023). In 1993, 2011 and 2015, Atiku lost at the primaries but in 2007 under the defunct Action Congress (AC), 2019 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 2023 (PDP), he was defeated at the main general elections. Atiku was a presidential candidate of the Action Congress in the 2007 presidential election, coming in third to Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. In 2017, he returned to the PDP and was the party presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, again losing to incumbent late former President Muhammadu Buhari. In May 2022, he was chosen as the PDP presidential candidate again, this time for the 2023 general election after he defeated Nyesom Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State, in the primaries. He came in second in the general election. He left the PDP to join the ADC in 2025.

In a recent interview, he declared the intention to pursue his possible last ambition to lead the most populous black nation on earth again. He said increased political stakes and experience placed him ahead of any other aspirant for the nation’s top job. Atiku said, “The stakes are higher because I believe that it will be my last… I think that’s a fact.”

The Waziri Adamawa, who said expectations from younger leaders have not always been met, stated that emerging politicians require mentorship and guidance from more experienced figures.

He said: “Can you tell me, among the current leaders in the North, who has more votes than I have?

“I mean, you are talking about figures like Tambuwal, you are talking about figures like Kwankwaso, and others, and el-Rufai, and also the emerging political figures.

“None of them has got that northern bloc vote as much as I have got.”

He also said the North appeared more united behind his candidacy ahead of the 2027 general elections because it remained his political base.

He enjoys bloc votes from the North in 2023 and expects to repeat same feat if fielded as candidate again in 2027.

The Waziri Adamawa won 12 states in the 2023 elections.

Atiku, who has operated within major political parties, including the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), the PDP, AC, All Progressives Congress (APC) before joining ADC, entered politics with the encouragement of his mentor, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. Specifically, he left the PDP for the Action Congress (AC) in 2006, rejoined the PDP in 2009, moved to the APC in 2014, and returned to the PDP in 2017.

Rotimi Amaechi

Another political heavyweight eyeing the ADC ticket is the former Minister of Transportation. Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State, Speaker, House of Assembly, and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), also declared his intention in a recent television interview. He said his experience in governance and infrastructure development positions him to tackle Nigeria’s challenges ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Amaechi said he understands the country’s problems and has the capacity to solve them.

“I don’t care who else is running. I’m running because I’m a Nigerian candidate. I know the Nigerian problem, and I can solve the Nigerian problem,” he said.

The chieftain of the ADC cited rail and port projects executed during his tenure as evidence of his capacity.

He also claimed to have tackled insecurity while in office, saying his record sets him apart from other contenders.

The former governor of Rivers State also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying the economic situation had worsened.

“Whether free, fair or not, if we [ADC] are on the ballot, President Bola Tinubu will lose the election. The problem is he does not want a strong candidate on the ballot,” Amaechi stated.

Last week, he gave an indication of possible contest when he said that he would go for direct primary if he is not considered as a consensus presidential candidate of the ADC after submitting his nomination form at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

When asked about his preferred choice between consensus and direct primary as a method to choose candidate between himself, former Vice President Abubakar, and Alhaji Hayatu-Deen, he said, “I’m going for (direct) primary. If the consensus is me, fine. But if it’s not me, I’m going for primary.”

Amaechi said his experience, capacity and youthfulness as former governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation gave him an edge over Atiku and Hayatu-Deen.

The presidential aspirant on the platform of the ADC said he could turn around the fortune of Nigeria in four years.

Asked to explain the reasons why Nigerians should vote for him as presidential candidate, he replied, “I would say that what you are seeing currently is that nearly everybody who is running for the office of the president has served Nigeria in one way or another. Let this be a referendum.

If you have performed, whoever has outperformed the other, vote for the person. The next thing is who is capable of delivering the votes? Who is capable of beating the incumbent? Who has the experience?

“I believe I am the most experienced. I am young, I am the most experienced, and I believe I have the capacity. That is as it pertains to the country. Go back to Rivers State and see what I have done. Go back to Ministry of Transportation and see what I have done, and assess it and see whether I can turn the country around. And I will, in four years, turn the country around.”

Amaechi advised Nigerians to shun ethnic and religious sentiment as yardsticks to determine presidential candidate, saying that the ‘Emilokan’ and ‘It’s Our Turn’ mentality brought Nigeria to its current pitiable situation.

When asked about his advice to Nigerians and the party leadership, he said, “Nigerians should vote for merit but not vote for those who say ‘I’m from this place’, ‘I’m from that place’, ‘vote for me because my people have not been voted for me before’, or ‘it’s our turn’. It is what do you call it – Emilokan – that brought us here. It is our turn that brought us here.

It is the turn of Nigerians, because you see there is no market for Christians, neither is there a market for Muslims, nor a market for northerners or southerners.

The market has only just one purpose, the forex. And what is forex? Naira. And Nigerians are suffering. They are suffering. The current president has put us in this suffering. I don’t know why he wants to run. I don’t even know why APC wants to participate. They should be in shame and allow other Nigerians to participate and change the country.”

Mohammed Hayatu-Deen

Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a seasoned technocrat and administrator, is another aspirant who has joined the race to secure the presidential ticket of the opposition ADC.

The 2023 presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, while speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, said for too long, the country had made the wrong choices, tolerated weak systems, and watched as the gap between her potential and reality has widened.

The renowned economist pledged to prioritise Nigerians’ security if elected president, declaring that safety will be his foremost responsibility.

The presidential aspirant said Nigerians now face worsening insecurity alongside economic hardship.

The former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) said Nigerians were poorer and less secure than three years ago, blaming poorly sequenced macroeconomic reforms that triggered severe consequences and eroded confidence in governance.

“What this season in our national consciousness demands is practical solutions and results. Nigerians want a leader who is serious about tackling insecurity, creating new jobs, and reforming institutions in a way that positively impacts their lives.

“My record, my experience, and my lifetime of service demonstrate clearly what I am capable of offering the ADC and the nation. I have the experience and the capacity to contribute substantially to the victory of our party, to unite our country, and build a safer and more prosperous future for all Nigerians,” he added.

When he submitted his presidential nomination form last week, Hayatu-Deen expressed his support for competence over zoning as the 2027 presidential election draws closer.

The seasoned technocrat, administrator, and famous economist said the debate on zoning should not take a centre stage as Nigeria needed a president who can resolve the current challenges.

When asked to speak on his choice of method to produce presidential candidate between consensus and direct primary, Hayatu-Deen said, “As far as the model of primaries is concerned, it’s firmly entrenched in the Electoral Act. The party leadership will decide what model of primaries will best suit the needs of ADC in order for it to win this election hands down.”

He expressed confidence about his chances at the elections, saying that”I can tell you with full confidence that I’m fully prepared to contest this election. I’m certain of myself. And I’m very, very confident about the kind of campaign that I’m waging. I’m confident that I will win this campaign and win it. That’s why I’m here.” (TRIBUNE)