Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President has officially emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC ) for the 2027 general election.
This is coming after he defeated former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and former banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, in the party’s direct primary election.
The ADC presidential primary process started on Monday, May 25, 2026, with the party adopting the direct primary method after the three leading aspirants reportedly rejected calls to step down for a consensus candidate.
Meanwhile, the unveiling of Atiku as the ADC’s presidential hopeful took place in Abuja Wednesday evening, following the nationwide collation of the party’s presidential primary election results.
The National Chairman of ADC, David Mark handed over the flag to Atiku Abubakar amid cheers from party leaders and supporters.
Mark said: “I will like to handover our flag to our flagbrear, and the man who will take us to the villa.
“The journey ahead might not be easy, but with Nigerians on our side, we will win. Nigerians are watching to see if we can put them first. Let tonight mark a rebirth of political trust. Let’s embrace spirit of sportsmanship.”
The former Senate President called on all the aspirants to work together describing them as eminently qualified to lead the country.
While reacting, Atiku said: “I hereby accept the nomination.”
In his acceptance speech, he called on other contestants, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen to close ranks, and work for the progress of the party.
A breakdown of the results revealed that Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes, Amaechi 504,117 votes while Hayatu-Deen got 177,120 votes.
