ADC Northern Presidential Candidate May Struggle to Convince South, Says Amaechi

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A former Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has cautioned that it could be difficult for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to sell a northern presidential candidate to voters in southern Nigeria, urging the party to weigh zoning realities carefully ahead of the next general election.

Amaechi, speaking in Kano while responding to questions on whether he would support any candidate that emerges from the ADC, said he was prepared to back the party’s flagbearer but insisted that strategic decisions were necessary to enhance national appeal and electoral success.

“I will support whoever emerges. But I also advise the ADC to look around and identify the best material that can convince Nigerians that things will be turned around,” he said.

He said the party must consider three critical factors in choosing its presidential candidate: capacity, age and the prevailing power dynamics in the country.

“First is capacity. Second is age. Third, which is the last point, is to respect the unwritten law of power that is now in the South,” Amaechi said.

According to him, acknowledging the current rotation of power would make it easier for politicians and voters in the South to rally behind the party.

“They should conclude that and then transfer power to the North. It makes it easier for those of us from the South to say we are going to compete because the North has said, ‘finish all this’,” he said.

Amaechi warned that fielding a northern candidate at a time when many southerners believed power should remain in the South could weaken the ADC appeal in the region.

“If you elect somebody from the North, I’m not saying we won’t campaign, but it will be difficult to convince the South to give up power because they will ask the north, ‘Why is it that it’s only when power comes to the South that there is a problem?” he said.

Despite his reservations, Amaechi reaffirmed his commitment to party unity, stressing that he would support whoever emerged the ADC presidential candidate, regardless of region.

“Whether it is a southerner or a northerner is immaterial, I will support whoever emerges at the primary,” he said.

The former Rivers State governor, who has declared his intention to vie for the party’s presidential ticket, however, pledged to serve a single four-year term to allow power to return to the North.

This is given that President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would have completed four years under the unwritten eight-year southern presidency arrangement spanning 2023–2031.

Similarly, a presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, has reiterated his promised to serve only a single term if granted the party’s presidential ticket, in line with the spirit of the zoning agreement.

Amaechi’s latest comments came a day after former Kaduna State governor and ADC chieftain, Malam Nasir El-Rufai reiterated the party’s position against zoning the presidential ticket.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, widely regarded as a frontline aspirant within the party, also said the ADC would not zone its presidential nomination.