At the third plenary session of the Northern Political Consultative Group (NPCG) held in Abuja, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), revealed why no serving governor has officially joined their coalition.
He explained that “no serving governor would be willing to cross over because of the intimidation that they are facing.”
Abdullahi spoke openly about the pressure governors are under, stating, “We know what they are doing to them. Some of them who cannot jump to their party are saying we are endorsing their presidential candidate. No problem. But what you are seeing is a conspiracy against the Nigerian people.”
Despite the pressure, he emphasized that the ADC remains inclusive, declaring, “The ADC welcomes everybody, but we are convinced that we are a movement that has the backing of the majority of Nigerians who are not happy with the direction this country is going.”
On the question of who would represent the ADC in 2027, Abdullahi noted that no candidate selection process has started.
“We don’t have any favourite aspirants or candidates. We are not having any conversation at the moment,” he said.
“Nobody has ever had any conversation about who will be the party’s flag bearer. We believe that it is too early in the day. Our focus now is to build a political party that is strong enough to deliver on the mission that we have set for ourselves.”
Earlier in the session, former SGF Babachir David Lawal reiterated the coalition’s commitment to supporting whichever candidate emerges from ADC’s electoral process.
“The ADC as a political party is a party that is founded on democratic principles. We are going to conduct congresses and conventions to elect our representatives at the election. And whoever emerges, be it North, South, Central, West, whoever emerges at either the congresses or at the convention, ADC will support it, and the Northern Political Consultative Group will support that decision.”
So far, political figures such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi have all expressed interest in contesting the ADC presidential ticket.
Despite that, Abdullahi emphasized, the coalition’s strength lies in its movement and message, not in its current roster of state governors.
