The African Democratic Congress on Sunday urged its presidential aspirants, party leaders, delegates and members nationwide to keep the peace as the party heads into its presidential primaries on Monday. In a statement issued in Abuja, spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi said the contest must be handled with discipline and dignity.
The party said it remains committed to internal democracy and transparent leadership selection, and described itself as the only political party in Nigeria whose presidential choice is decided through open primaries. Abdullahi said the exercise must reflect transparency, internal democracy, national unity and the rule of law, and added that there would be no winners or losers inside the ADC family when the voting ends.
“We therefore urge all aspirants, their supporters, delegates, and party faithful to conduct themselves peacefully, responsibly, and with dignity throughout the process,” Abdullahi said. “At the end of this exercise, there will be no winners or losers within the ADC family. The ultimate objective is to emerge stronger, more united, and fully prepared to offer Nigerians the competent and credible leadership they deserve.”
The appeal came as the party prepared for a primary that puts three well-known figures in the race for its ticket for the 2027 election: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Transportation Minister and ex-Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen. The ADC said it had made adequate arrangements to ensure the primaries were free, fair, transparent and credible.
Atiku cast his vote at the Ajiya Ward Polling Unit in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State, and said he had joined other prospective voters in the party’s presidential primary. He called the process “democracy at work” and said the vote was taking place simultaneously in 8,809 wards nationwide.
“I joined other prospective voters of the African Democratic Congress in our party’s presidential primaries in casting my vote at the Ajiya Ward Polling Unit in Jimeta Yola, Adamawa State. This is democracy at work,” Atiku said. He added that the election across 8,809 wards was “a major step in our quest to recover our beloved country and set it on the path of prosperity.”
The open primary is the party’s most public test yet of the system it says sets it apart, and the weekend warning from Abuja was meant to prevent the contest from turning into a loyalty fight. By Monday, the question was not whether the ADC could hold a primary, but whether it could finish one and still look like a party trying to sell itself as a national alternative.
