The African Democratic Congress has opened its presidential primaries nationwide after several attempts to settle on a consensus candidate failed. The party said on Sunday in Abuja that the contest would go ahead across 8,809 wards and 774 local government areas, with voting set for Monday.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC national publicity secretary, appealed to aspirants, delegates, party leaders and members to keep the process calm. He said the party remained committed to internal democracy and transparent leadership selection, adding that it is the only political party whose presidential candidate is chosen through open primaries.
Among the leading contenders for the ticket are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Transportation Minister and Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen. The winner will carry the ADC banner into the 2027 election, where the party will seek to challenge President Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi.
The statement came as the party tried to project unity after a bruising run-up to the vote. Abdullahi said the election must reflect transparency, internal democracy, national unity and the rule of law, and he urged aspirants, supporters, delegates and party faithful to conduct themselves peacefully, responsibly and with dignity throughout the process.
That calm tone sits beside a harder fact: the primaries only reached this stage after the party’s efforts to adopt a consensus candidate ran into a wall. In that sense, Monday’s exercise is not just about choosing a nominee. It is also a test of whether the ADC can turn a difficult internal contest into a credible showcase for the kind of politics it says it wants to practice.
Abdullahi said the party had made adequate arrangements to ensure the primaries are free, fair, transparent and credible. He added that there would be no winners or losers inside the ADC family at the end of the exercise, saying the goal was to emerge stronger, more united and ready to offer Nigerians the leadership it believes they deserve.
He also said history would judge the party not only by who emerges as candidate, but by how it conducts itself in this defining moment, and called on members to rise to the occasion. The answer to the question the primary poses is now clear: the ADC is pressing ahead with an open nationwide vote, and it wants the day to end with a nominee and a show of discipline that can hold the party together for the 2027 race.
