Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dr Ladan Salihu, in this monitored interview on Arise News, discussed the principles that would guide the party in choosing its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Salihu also speaks on the impact the defection of Peter Obi, the Labour Party, LP’s, presidential candidate in the 2023 elections will have on the ADC’s chances in the general polls. Excerpts:
What impact will Peter Obi’s decision to join the ADC have on the party’s chances in the forthcoming general elections? Professor Pat Utomi has said if Obi is not made the presidential candidate of the ADC and he accepts a vice presidential position, he will part ways with him. What is the guarantee that Obi will be the chosen presidential candidate of the ADC in 2027? What do you have to say about Nasiru Gombe, who says Obi has joined the wrong faction of the ADC?
Politically, the defection of Peter Obi to the ADC is a blockbuster. It is a defining moment in our own political history, in the history of the ADC and in the history of the opposition movement in Nigeria. Remember some weeks back, Atiku Abubakar declared for the ADC and now we have Obi.
Numbers do not lie. The two put together in the last presidential elections in 2023 had about 62 to 63 per cent of the total presidential votes. If you take that calculus and put it on the table, you can literally say that the coming of Obi into the ADC has put us in a pole position, one leg already in the presidential villa. I am so excited.
Our whole members from top to the bottom echelon of the ADC are excited by this moment. When you look at the optics in Enugu, who is who in Eastern Nigerian politics was there. Senators led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the former governor of Imo State, Ebonyi State, former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and many others. We are excited, we are upbeat, we are looking forward to a very keenly contested national and presidential elections. We are going to, in the coming weeks, come up with a strategy to communicate to Nigerians, to articulate our own policies, manifestos and the way forward.
On Professor Pat Utomi, he is rushing, he has rushed with his comments. I believe he should calm down and sober up. I will also plead with those who have the kind of mindset and temperament of Pat Utomi. I am certain that at this stage, we savour the moment and look at the issues dispassionately because we are trying to recruit members. We are trying to put the party together to begin to articulate how we will perform our role as a mega opposition party.
