“Obi’s Supporters Press For Consensus, Atiku Refuses To Step Down” — ADC Leadership Faces Internal Tensions Over 2027 Ticket

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) may opt for a competitive primary for the choice of its presidential candidate for next year’s election, if consensus fails, it was learnt yesterday.

A top party source said the choice of a standard bearer has polarised the coalition party into two camps revolving around former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, a former Anambra State governor who defected to the party from Labour Party (LP) last week.

Atiku had pulled out his group from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and adopted ADC as platform for the purpose of realising his long standing ambition.

However, Obi’s supporters have started mounting intense pressure on the party leadership to persuade Atiku to step down so that he can become the consensus candidate.

Atiku’s camp, which currently dominates the party structure, has resisted the pressure, the source said.

In 2023, when Obi was LP presidential candidate, he was picked through consensus without going through the hurdle of a n elective primary.

But Atiku had always insisted on primary, even if he was the only aspirant.

On what informed the defection of Obi, a source, who pleaded for anonymity said the ADC remained the only platform that can be used to confront the ruling APC.

The source said: “The Igbo intelligential are of the belief that they would persuade Atiku to step down and allow Obi to fly the ADC ticket.

“They have looked at the available parties. They don’t want to gamble with the LP as they did in 2023. The PDP is weak and there is no time for experiment in 2027.

“They are of the opinion that Obi’s candidacy will shore up the chances of the opposition coalition. That informed the official declaration of the former Anambra governor.”

But a source within the Atiku camp ruled out the possibility of stepping down from the presidential race.

The source said: “Atiku has welcomed Obi into the party. We are ready for ADC presidential primary. Nobody should be afraid of submitting to rules of the game for competition.”

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