𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗯𝘂 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗗𝗖 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?

All eyes are on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) today, May 25, 2026, as delegates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory file out to choose the opposition party’s presidential flag bearer for the 2027 general election.

The outcome of this primary will determine who emerges as the main challenger to President Bola Tinubu, who just secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket with a landslide victory of over 10.99 million votes .

Three heavyweight aspirants are locked in a fierce battle for the ADC ticket: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor and ex-Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and renowned economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen .

The party had initially pushed for a consensus arrangement to avoid the logistical challenges and costs of a direct primary, but repeated efforts to broker a compromise among the three contenders collapsed.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, confirmed that the party would proceed with direct primaries, after which the National Executive Committee will meet on May 30 to ratify the results.

Former National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun, who heads the ADC’s Policy and Manifesto Committee, warned that consensus would have saved valuable time but insisted the party would follow the law .

Atiku, who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ADC in November 2025, has described the 2027 race as his final shot at the presidency. After his screening before a panel chaired by former Cross River State Governor Senator Liyel Imoke, Atiku unveiled what his campaign called an economic rescue blueprint and a comprehensive security action plan.

His media adviser, Paul Ibe, told Nigerian Tribune that the Waziri Adamawa’s experience, national network, and pan-Nigerian outlook give him a clear edge over other contenders . “Atiku Abubakar stands out. He is in a class of his own,” Ibe said, adding that his principal has the capacity to assemble the best brains both domestically and in diaspora.

Prominent figures reportedly aligned with Atiku’s camp include former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi, and former SGF Babachir Lawal .

But Amaechi is not stepping aside for anyone. The former minister has repeatedly insisted that he did not purchase the ADC nomination forms to become anybody’s vice president.

“I don’t want to be vice president. I made myself clear and did not speak in ambiguous terms. I didn’t speak Igbo, Ikwerre, or Hausa. I spoke English,” he declared after his screening.

He also vowed to scrap the federal character principle if elected, arguing that competence and merit, not ethnic quota, should determine who gets what in Nigeria . A close ally of the former governor, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said Amaechi’s target is not the ADC ticket per se, but to face and defeat President Tinubu at the main election . Supporters of the former minister argue that zoning considerations favour the South retaining the presidency after Tinubu’s first term .

Hayatu-Deen, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and former CEO of FSB International Bank Plc, has positioned himself as a technocrat capable of addressing Nigeria’s economic and governance challenges.

He has criticised what he describes as “recycled politics,” arguing that Nigeria requires leadership based on competence and discipline rather than political baggage .

“I carry no baggage. I owe no political godfathers,” he told young Nigerians in Abuja . His campaign recently received a boost after the ADC South-West Professionals Forum endorsed him ahead of the primary, describing him as “the kind of leader Nigeria urgently requires” .

The ADC primary comes just a day after President Tinubu secured the APC presidential ticket in a nationwide direct primary, polling 10,999,162 votes against his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, who managed just 16,503 votes . With the ruling party now firmly behind Tinubu, the question on the lips of many Nigerians is which of the three ADC aspirants has the political structure, national reach, and electoral muscle to mount a credible challenge against the incumbent .

Party leaders have appealed for unity and discipline ahead of the exercise. Abdullahi described the primaries as “a defining democratic moment not only for the ADC but also for Nigerians searching for a credible political alternative” . He assured that measures have been put in place to guarantee a free, fair, and credible process, adding: “History will judge us, not merely by who emerges as candidate, but by how we conduct ourselves in this defining moment” .

The ADC has thrown its presidential ticket open to all qualified Nigerians, unlike the APC and PDP, which have zoned their tickets to the South . The primary is being conducted by a committee chaired by Chief Ikechi Emenike, the 2023 APC governorship candidate in Abia State . Results are expected to be announced later today, with ratification by the NEC set for May 30.

As delegates cast their votes, the nation watches to see whether the party will opt for Atiku’s experience and national structure, Amaechi’s firebrand campaign and infrastructure record, or Hayatu-Deen’s technocratic appeal. Whoever emerges will carry the weight of opposition hopes against an incumbent who has shown, with his commanding primary victory, that he is not surrendering power without a fight.