The African Democratic Congress has disclosed that it is considering adopting a consensus approach to select its presidential candidate for the 2027 election, citing cost considerations as the primary reason for the preferred method.
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National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi made the disclosure at the weekend during an appearance on One-on-One, a programme on Arise TV, where he also alleged that the APC-led government had actively sabotaged the party’s efforts to secure office accommodation.
Abdullahi explained that the party is left with only two options for selecting its presidential candidate — direct primaries and consensus — noting that indirect primaries are no longer available under the amended Electoral Act 2026.
“We are trying as much as possible to adopt the consensus approach because that is the least costly for us,” Abdullahi stated.
“Given the delegate… the indirect primaries is no longer on the table. So we are left with those two options — consensus and indirect primaries. And for us, the best-case scenario is to be able to engineer consensus, and that’s what we are working on.”
In a startling revelation, Abdullahi alleged that the ruling APC government had actively worked to prevent the ADC from securing office accommodation by reaching out to property owners.
“If you know the process that went into even using that office, we have other offices. You know, this is really… they APC, you know, they say all kind of things,” Abdullahi said.
“We will get offices, then we will agree with the owner of the building to pay on Monday. By the time we get there, the owner will say no, we don’t want again because the government will have reached out to them — say don’t give those people accommodation.”
He added: “So at the end of the day, it was a last ditch effort… and that building was on a lease and all we had to do was to renew the lease. It was a personal property of Alhaji Atuaka.”
Abdullahi accused the ruling party of being unsettled despite controlling 31 governors and dominating the National Assembly.
“Any free and fair election in this country today, there’s no way APC will win,” he declared.
“How can a party that has 31 governors and almost 90-something percent of the National Assembly… why are they still panicking? Why are they still trying to destabilize all other opposition parties?”
He argued that the APC should be “preparing for the coronation of president” given their overwhelming dominance, but instead they remain unsettled because “they know that a free and fair election, there’s no way they can win.”
“Nigerians are tired of them. And that is why for us at the opposition party, we are very clear what our responsibilities are — to prove to Nigerians that we truly offer alternative and we represent alternative,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC spokesman dismissed suggestions that opposition parties should learn from the APC’s convention, describing the ruling party as a “special purpose vehicle.”
“If you take power out of APC, APC is actually nothing. I know that party very well. And post-Tinubu, they will unravel so quickly that even they will be surprised,” Abdullahi said.
“Ask an average APC official, party leader, what the party stands for — governor, House of Rep — ask them what does APC really stand for? They don’t know because it’s really nothing.”
He added: “It’s a special purpose vehicle designed to make President Muhammad Buhari president and the other person, President Tinubu. And it has served this purpose.”
Abdullahi presented damning statistics on insecurity under the current administration.
“Before President Tinubu came in May 2023, Nigeria ranked seventh in the global terrorism index. The last one released about two weeks ago, Nigeria is now number four,” he said.
He cited a Statisense report indicating that within one month, 735 Nigerians have been killed by insurgents.
“That is one Nigerian every one hour. One Nigerian every one hour is the worst insurgency casualty on earth,” Abdullahi stated.
He accused the government of “cuddling terrorists” and “doing business with terrorists,” noting that kidnappers in Kwara State recently demanded N1 billion ransom.
“Where did they get the temerity to be asking to be paid for kidnapping Nigerians if government is not doing business with them?” he asked.
Abdullahi highlighted what he described as misplaced priorities in government spending.
“Do you know that between 2024 and 2025, President Tinubu has actually spent N34 billion on travels — N34 billion naira on official travel for the president and vice president?” he asked.
“And that’s the same government that released only N36 million naira to the Ministry of Health capital budget. Has it ever happened before that in Nigerian history a government will be implementing three budgets at the same time and implementing none?”
Abdullahi disclosed that the ADC and other opposition parties under the Inter-Party Advisory Council are challenging certain provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
“We’ve said it that we’re challenging it, not only as ADC but even as IPAC, that is the opposition political parties. We’re going to challenge it… because it is inconsistent with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated.
He expressed disbelief that the National Assembly passed a law stating that certificate forgery would no longer be a basis to challenge electoral outcomes.
“A day will come that a Nigerian National Assembly will make a law that says certificate forgery will no longer be a basis to challenge electoral outcome. APC is reducing Nigeria to its moral level and we must all be embarrassed as Nigerians,” Abdullahi said.
On party organisation, Abdullahi revealed that the ADC’s membership register has reached approximately 2.6 million members.
The party has scheduled congresses to begin on April 7, with the national convention set for April 14.
Meanwhile, supporters of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, under the Village Boys Movement, have urged the ADC to give him its presidential ticket for the 2027 election.
The group held what it described as a “2 Million Man March and ADC Registration Drive” across many states, including Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Ebonyi, Plateau, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Kogi and Edo.
In a statement, the movement’s Village Headmaster, Tochukwu Ezeoke, said the march was to demonstrate support for Obi and encourage mass registration in the ADC.
He added that the mobilisation formed part of a broader strategy to build a structured national political base ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to him, the phased rollout of the march was designed to sustain engagement across regions in the coming weeks and convert public support into an organised political force.
The ADC’s preference for consensus suggests the party may be working towards presenting a unity candidate without a potentially divisive primary process — a strategy that could benefit a high-profile defector like Peter Obi if he joins the party.
However, the allegation that the ruling party is actively sabotaging opposition efforts to secure basic infrastructure like office space raises serious concerns about the health of Nigeria’s democracy and the playing field ahead of the 2027 elections.
The ADC’s April 14 national convention will provide clarity on the party’s direction and whether the “consensus” being engineered will accommodate the growing clamour from Peter Obi’s supporters.
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