2027: ADC Defends Amaechi’s Silence After VP Nomination

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has defended the continued silence of former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, following his nomination as the running mate to the party’s 2027 presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics on Monday night, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed concerns that Amaechi had yet to publicly confirm his acceptance of the nomination.

Abdullahi said there was no crisis within the party and questioned why the former governor was expected to make a separate announcement after the ADC had already communicated its decision.

“What do you want to hear? That he has accepted?” Abdullahi asked.

“Did he have a duty to announce that he has accepted? Because you should expect that conversation took place that led to that announcement by the party.”

He maintained that the process leading to Amaechi’s emergence as Atiku’s running mate was properly followed and that political parties, rather than candidates, are responsible for making such announcements.

“What more do you expect from the candidate? For him to come out and say, ‘Oh, my party has nominated me as running mate, I hereby accept’? When is it ever done?” he said.

According to Abdullahi, Amaechi’s silence should not be interpreted as a sign of disagreement with the party’s decision.

“The party has taken a position, the party has announced. Did you hear anybody come out to say, ‘No, it’s not true, I’m not the running mate’? The party has announced that our running mate in 2027 is His Excellency Rotimi Amaechi,” he said.

When asked whether Amaechi had personally consented before the announcement was made, Abdullahi declined to disclose details of internal consultations but insisted that due process was observed.

“The party took a decision and there was a process for arriving at that decision,” he said.

He added that the party would formally present both Atiku and Amaechi to Nigerians at the appropriate time.

“At the appropriate date, we are going to unveil the two of them. We have ample time. The campaign has not even started. We have not even formally unveiled our candidates,” he stated.

Abdullahi also said the ADC was focused on strengthening internal democracy and building a party guided by institutions rather than individuals.

“We are trying to build a political party where the party is supreme,” he said.

He further claimed that the ADC remained the only political party to conduct a nationwide internal election involving members across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We are the only political party that actually conducted a nationwide election among our members. We are the only political party that did that,” he added.