2027 Election: Atiku to Pick Up ADC Membership Card Today

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is expected to officially register with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) today and will also collect his membership card, as reported by Daily Trust.

According to top aides who spoke with Daily Trust on Sunday, all necessary arrangements have been finalized for Atiku’s registration, which will take place at Jada Ward 1 in the Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The former vice president hinted at the development during a meeting held earlier today with the Adamawa State ADC leadership in Yola.

“In Nigeria as a whole, there is a new political movement, is it not so? Today, the new movement has taken us to where? To the ADC. So, the people of Adamawa and Nigeria, our new party is ADC and our new leaders in Adamawa are here seated,” he said.

“After that, on Monday, I will be officially in the ADC. Before now, I was not in; you were there before me. Will you accept me?” he asked, to which the crowd responded with a resounding “Yes”.

He added: “May God allow us to witness Monday. It is tomorrow; we are hopeful to meet tomorrow.”

Until now, there had been doubts over the level of commitment of both Atiku and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the ADC after the opposition coalition they jointly lead adopted the party in July as its platform for the 2027 presidential election.

However, when asked last month why the coalition leaders were yet to formally join the ADC, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, explained that there were no valid membership cards at the time.

“The cards used before are invalid since the emergence of the new leadership. The valid cards are those signed by the new national chairman, Senator David Mark, and the secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,” he said.

But Atiku’s formal entrance now followed the announcement by Aregbesola on November 19 officially commencing registration and membership validation.

“As a demonstration of my commitment, I completed my own symbolic registration at Ward 8, Unit 1, Ifofin, in Ilesa East Local Government Area of Osun State,” Aregbesola said via his social media handles, urging existing members to validate their membership and new entrants to register.

Atiku, Obi ambitions place ADC at a crossroads

Despite the explanations for the delayed registration, the absence of Atiku and Obi at the unveiling of the ADC’s new national secretariat last week further fuelled concerns over their alignment with the coalition’s strategy.

The party’s spokesman dismissed reports suggesting Obi’s absence was deliberate due to the building having previously served as Atiku’s campaign headquarters. He clarified that Obi was out of the country, while Atiku had other engagements.

Observers, however, noted that the political ambitions of both men remained a major challenge the coalition must address. Atiku, who turns 79 on Tuesday, has contested for president three times and flew the PDP ticket in the last two elections, with Obi as his running mate in 2019. They parted ways ahead of the 2023 elections, when Obi ran under the Labour Party, finishing third behind APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku.

Their combined 12 million votes in 2023 exceeded Tinubu’s eight million, reinforcing arguments that a united opposition could have defeated the APC.

While Atiku has signalled interest in contesting again in 2027, Obi has also insisted he will be on the ballot, with his Obidient Movement opposing any suggestion of him serving as a running mate again.

Abdullahi said the ADC was not worried about their ambitions.

“When the time comes to choose our presidential candidate, it will be through a democratic process that Nigerians can see for themselves. That’s why I said there’s no real conflict of ambition,” he stated.