The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has officially distanced itself from rumours that it favours any single contender ahead of the 2027 presidential primary. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Interim National Chairman, Senator David Mark made clear that the party remains impartial amid speculation surrounding the ambitions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 candidate Peter Obi, and ex‑Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi.
Senator Mark’s address, released by his media team in Abuja, underscored his commitment to equal treatment for all aspirants. “The ADC has no preferred or favourite presidential aspirant but has set out to first put out a platform that would be attractive and acceptable to majority of Nigerians,” he affirmed. Mark added that the party’s foremost responsibility was to safeguard Nigeria’s unity: “We are doing this because we do not want this great ship called Nigeria to sink because if we do not rise up, and now, they will sink all of us.”
His remarks followed criticism from Dumebi Kachikwu, ADC’s flagbearer in the 2023 election, who accused the interim leadership of tilting the scales in Atiku Abubakar’s favour.
Addressing those concerns, Mark insisted, “I don’t own this party more than any of our members and I urge all members to prepare to show Nigerians that ADC is a different party. A different party that is ready to properly run democracy in our country. All Nigerians must come together and take ownership of the ADC.”
In a separate development, Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, took to X on Tuesday to claim that detractors of the administration were scheming to unseat the President. Although the post was promptly deleted, Onanuga described the Tinubu government as “the most focused and transformative in Nigeria’s history.” He invoked a 2022 caution from the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II: “It’s not going to be easy. If anybody tells you it would be easy, don’t vote for him.”
Onanuga went on to allege that “haters of Nigeria’s progress are banding together to overthrow an administration that has been the most focused, most transformative in our history.”