(1) Atiku Abubakar
Among those contesting for the presidential ticket of the ADC, Atiku stands tall as the most experienced. Atiku’s quest to be president of Nigeria started in 1993, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The SDP primaries was won by the late Moshood Abiola who took Baba Gana Kingibe as his running mate.
However, Atiku was said to have stepped down from the race under pressure from Shehu Musa Yar’adua.
At the dawn of democracy in 1999, Atiku was chosen by Olusegun Obasanjo as his running mate. However, after falling out with Obasanjo at the end of their tenure, in 2007 he defected and contested for the presidency on the platform of the Action Congress (AC). He was defeated by the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua of the PDP.
The former Vice President returned to the Peoples Democratic Party, in 2011 and challenged the former President Goodluck Jonathan for the PDP ticket. Atiku lost the party’s primary election to Jonathan. In 2015, Atiku led some PDP governors to the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) and challenged the late President Muhammadu Buhari and others for the presidential ticket, but lost the contest.
In 2019, Atiku returned to the PDP, won the primary, but lost the main election to the then President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2023, Atiku was also the PDP’s candidate, but lost to the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a widely publicised interview on television, Atiku recently disclosed that the 2027 election will be his last, fueling speculation that he will do everything humanly possible to clinch the ticket of the party.
(2) Rotimi Amaechi
Rotimi Amaechi, one of the top contenders for the ticket of the ADC, is a former Speaker of the Rivers State and a governor in the same Rivers. In 2023, after the tenure of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Amaechi contested for the presidential ticket of the APC with President Tinubu and lost.
Ahead of the coming election in 2027, Amaechi joined forces with the opposition coalition in the ADC and is now battling with others to clinch the presidential ticket.
As the battle for the ticket hots up, Amaechi was recently quoted in an interview with Trust TV, as saying that he did not purchase the nomination form of the ADC to step down or become a vice presidential candidate to anyone.
After his screening last week, Amaechi told journalists that he is a bonafide member of the ADC and will only accept the outcome of any consensus where he is part of and involved.
- (3) Muhammed Hayatu-Deen
Muhammed Hayatu-Deen is another presidential aspirant that has been making waves ahead of the ADC presidential primary.
In 2023, Hayatu-Deen was one of the top presidential aspirants for the ticket of the party. He lost to Atiku.
Ahead of the primaries, Hayatu-Deen has urged delegates and stakeholders to use the primary to demonstrate the party’s readiness to offer Nigerians what he described as a credible alternative to failed governance and “recycled politics.”
Speaking in Abuja at the weekend, Hayatu-Deen described the forthcoming primary election as a defining moment not only for the party but also for Nigeria’s political future ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said. “Monday is not merely about selecting a candidate. Monday is about determining whether the ADC is truly serious about rescuing Nigeria and offering Nigerians a credible alternative to the failed politics they have endured for too long.”
Positioning himself as a unifying candidate capable of bridging regional, religious and generational divides, Hayatu-Deen argued that his candidacy represents a departure from established political figures.
“I am not on the carousel of the same old faces that Nigerians have seen for decades,” he stated. “I carry no political baggage. I owe no godfathers. What I bring is experience, credibility, integrity, calm leadership, and a practical recovery plan for Nigeria.”
The aspirant highlighted insecurity, unemployment, displacement and economic decline across North Central states, including Benue State, Plateau State, Niger State, Nasarawa State and Kogi State, describing persistent attacks on farming communities as both an economic and humanitarian crisis.
“A nation cannot prosper when the region that feeds it is bleeding,” he said.
The winner of the anticipated ADC presidential primary is expected to lead the party into the January 2027 presidential election and mount a challenge against incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC and probably Mr Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).