Amaechi, Obi, Atiku voice unity at ADC convention

Leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have stressed the need for unity and the selection of credible candidates for the 2027 presidential elections.

The leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, made the call at the ADC 2026 national convention on Tuesday in Abuja.

Amaechi, while speaking at the convention, noted that electoral success depends on presenting strong and widely acceptable candidates.

He recalled the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that leaders then put aside ethnic and religious sentiments to support candidates who were competent and had broad national appeal.

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“We did it in the APC,” Amaechi said, stressing that the party stakeholders deliberately chose worthy candidates and avoided divisive considerations that could weaken unity and electoral prospects.

But he expressed regret that Nigeria had regressed to divisive politics, with ethnicity and religion dominating the discourse, blaming trends for exacerbating national challenges and weakening cohesion among citizens.

Amaechi said that economic reality must guide national thinking, noting that markets are driven by currency value, not identity, even as he called on society to prioritize shared prosperity over sectoral sentiment.

“Today, religion and ethnicity brought us here. There is no Muslim market, there is no Christian market; the market is the Naira,” he said, calling on Nigerians to embrace unity and economic pragmatism over divisive affiliations.

He also urged party members to make the right decisions, and expressed optimism that unity, achievement and pragmatism would shape the party’s choices ahead of the 2027 elections.

Obi said although leaders have spoken well, Nigerians must face reality through data.

He noted that Nigeria moved from fourth to eighth position in the global terrorism rankings, and warned that further decline could occur without decisive and collective national action.

The former governor also stated that Nigeria’s debt had increased from N87 trillion to about N200 trillion, and said that borrowing had soared despite the removal of subsidies.

The Labor Party’s 2023 presidential candidate criticized what he called low funding of the 2025 budget, which is impacting the country’s economy.

While warning that failure to take action could endanger future generations, he urged Nigerians to work together to prevent economic collapse.

In his remarks, Abubakar urged ADC members and the Nigerian public to ensure meaningful change in the country’s political direction.

He said his generation remained committed to ensuring a better future for young people, and stressed that current efforts were driven by concern for young Nigerians and future generations.