The convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Umar Ardo, believes Peter Obi does not stand a chance to get the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) if ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar does not step down.
Ardo spoke on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, arguing that Atiku is poised to pick the ADC ticket for the 2027 election ahead of the ex-Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate.
“Well, the ADC, as it is currently constituted, if it goes for primaries a hundred times, Atiku will win a hundred times. There is absolutely no doubt about that. How Peter Obi and his supporters react is what will determine the election,” Ardo said on the breakfast show.
“I am not saying that Peter Obi cannot be the candidate of the party; however, he can only be the candidate of the party if Atiku steps down,” he stated.
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The former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa, however, said Obi’s influence makes him an asset to the ADC.
He said that because the ex-Anambra governor “controls more than six million votes,” the ADC wants “him there to make the party strong so that the party will win the election” in 2027.
Obi, the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, declared for the ADC some weeks back after months of talks with party leaders.
At the December 31 event in Enugu, Obi defended his decision to join the ADC, describing it as a new beginning in the bid to rescue Nigeria from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Today is an important day; today is the last day of 2025, so we are ending this year with the hope that, in 2026, we will begin a journey of the rescue of our country for proper socio-economic development that will be unifying and inclusive,” the former Anambra governor told the gathering.
“We have all watched those who benefited from our democracy become accessories to destroying our democracy, either through coercion and gangsterism against the opposition. We cannot allow this to happen; we will resist it.”
Apart from Obi and Atiku, other top shots in the opposition party include former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and former Senate President David Mark, among others.
The politicians under the opposition coalition, last year, picked the ADC as their platform for next year’s election.
