The Sokoto State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has adopted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Naijaonpoint reports that a party chieftain, Muktar Magori, announced the development in a press conference on Sunday in Sokoto.
Magori, a former chief of staff to ex-Gov Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said the consensus was reached by ADC loyalists and other stakeholders in Sokoto State.
“This decision is in preparation for the party’s forthcoming presidential primaries and the 2027 general elections,” he said.
The press briefing was attended by several ADC chieftains in the state, including former Commissioner for Information, Dahiru Maishanu; former Head of Service, Alhaji Abubakar Muhammad; and the State Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwandu, among others.
Meanwhile, the ADC in Enugu State has said the South-East will not support President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, despite alleged threats that the region could lose federal infrastructure projects if it fails to vote for him.
The party challenged the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to “do his worst,” insisting that no amount of intimidation or political pressure would force the people of the region to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The ADC was reacting to comments reportedly made by Umahi during an inspection of federal road and bridge projects in Ebonyi State.
The minister was said to have urged the South-East to support Tinubu in 2027 or risk losing ongoing federal projects.
In a statement, the Enugu State Secretary of the ADC, Adolphus Ude, described the comments credited to Umahi as “reckless, irresponsible and unacceptable.”
Ude, a former founding Deputy Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, accused the minister of attempting to blackmail the South-East into supporting Tinubu.
According to him, the people of the region are politically independent and cannot be forced to vote for any candidate against their will.
He said Umahi’s alleged remarks amounted to talking down on the people of the South-East.
The ADC chieftain said, “Umahi should mention the major infrastructure projects being executed by the Tinubu government in the South-East and state their locations and value.”
Ude also faulted Umahi’s claim that the Tinubu administration had addressed the marginalisation of the South-East.
He argued that the exclusion of the region had worsened under the current Federal Government
According to him, the South-East has not benefited from the administration’s flagship infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway.
He claimed that most of the projects being cited by Umahi were inherited from previous administrations and could not be presented as new achievements of the Tinubu government in the region.
Ude said there was no significant new federal infrastructure project currently ongoing in the South-East.
He added, “The long-awaited dredging of the River Niger is not ongoing, and the South-East still has no rail line. So, what projects are being threatened?”
The ADC secretary further alleged that the South-East remained the most marginalised geopolitical zone under the Tinubu administration.
He said the region had only five ministers in the Federal Executive Council, three of whom served as ministers of state.
Ude also alleged that passport issuing machines had been deactivated across the South-East, forcing residents of the region to travel to Abuja to obtain international passports.
He maintained that the region had not received the kind of federal attention that would justify Umahi’s appeal for political support.
According to him, development projects are not a favour to any region but a constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government.
