The three aspirants are testing their popularity among ADC members nationwide in a bid to secure the presidential ticket and challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
A combo photo of Atiku, Hayatu-Deen and Amaechi
The battle for the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) intensified on Monday as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, and veteran businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen squared off in the party’s nationwide direct primary election.
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The opposition party commenced voting simultaneously across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards, with members openly queuing behind their preferred aspirants under the Option A4 voting system.
The contest marks a defining moment for the ADC ahead of the 2027 presidential election as the party seeks to position itself as the main opposition platform capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Atiku cast his vote at Ajiya Ward in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State, while Amaechi voted in Ward 5, Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, alongside party loyalists and supporters.
Hayatu-Deen participated in the exercise in Borno State.
“This is democracy at work,” Atiku wrote on X after voting.
“The election taking place simultaneously in 8,809 wards in Nigeria is a major step in our quest to recover our beloved country and set it on the path of prosperity,” he added.
Atiku and Amaechi had joined the ADC in July 2025 along with other opposition figures like former Anambra governor Peter Obi as part of a broader opposition realignment aimed at wresting power from Tinubu and the APC in the 2027 general election.
But Obi defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) with a former Kano State governor, Musa Kwankwaso.
Since then, consultations within the ADC had focused on producing a consensus candidate to avoid a divisive contest.
The former Senate President, David Mark-led ADC had earlier cleared the trio for the primary after a screening exercise in Abuja.
However, efforts to persuade any of the aspirants to step down failed, forcing the party to adopt a direct primary system to allow members to decide the flagbearer.
The three aspirants chose to instead test their popularity nationwide.
Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation and one-time APC presidential aspirant, is banking on his grassroots structure and southern support base.
Atiku, who has contested for president multiple times, is relying on his national political network and northern influence, while Hayatu-Deen is presenting himself as a technocratic alternative focused on economic reforms and governance.
The outcome of the exercise is expected to shape the strength and direction of the opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential poll scheduled for February 20, 2027.
