ADC afraid to zone 2027 presidential ticket because party belongs to Atiku – Keyamo

Barr. Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of refusing to clearly zone its presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a post on X on Thursday, Keyamo said the ADC’s hesitation was because the party “belongs to one man called Atiku Abubakar”.

Keyamo argued that the situation mirrors what he described as the crisis that engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 presidential election.

“It is the exact corner that Atiku pushed PDP to in 2023 that ADC now finds itself — the inability to zone its presidential ticket,” he said.

The minister said Nigeria’s political sensitivity makes zoning a critical requirement for any party with national ambitions.

Keyamo said the All Progressives Congress (APC) benefitted from its zoning decision in 2023, adding that the PDP is “still reeling from that disastrous decision”.

The minister accused Atiku of attempting to “camouflage” behind Peter Obi to secure votes through what he described as a flawed political arrangement.

“Atiku wants to camouflage with Peter Obi and surreptitiously secure his votes and become president on a flawed template that will damage our fragile unity as a nation.

“And Peter Obi is supporting this contraption for selfish reasons — throwing the entire country under the bus for a mess of pottage called a VP ticket,” he said.

The minister said Obi would “soon learn in a hard way,” adding that the former governor’s supporters are being misled.

“Commiserations to the naive Obi supporters who are being led into a dead end by wily, old war horses in politics,” he said.

He added that both the ruling party and the opposition would be subjected to intense political scrutiny ahead of the elections.

“So, there is no hiding place for the opposition, just like there is no hiding place for the ruling party,” Keyamo said.