A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr Ladan Salihu, has called on political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, and supporters of former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, to remain calm amid growing debate over the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
Salihu made the appeal while reacting to recent comments by Utomi, who had said he would withdraw his support for Obi if the former governor accepted a vice-presidential position in the emerging opposition coalition following his defection to the ADC.
The ADC chieftain urged restraint and a focus on party building rather than early contestations over the party’s presidential ticket.
“Pat Utomi has rushed with his comment. I believe he should calm down and sober up,” Salihu said.
He said the priority of the party at the moment was to strengthen its structure and position itself as a viable opposition platform.
“We are trying to recruit members, we are trying to put the party together, to begin to articulate how we will perform our role as a mega opposition party,” he said.
“That should be the issue on the table. We should not so much be looking at the issues of presidential election at this stage.”
According to Salihu, the focus should be on expanding the party’s reach and communicating its message to Nigerians across the country.
“We should be looking at how we grow the party, how to market the party, how we sell the party to Nigerians; how we take the message to the nooks and crannies of this country,” he added.
Responding to demands by supporters of Obi, popularly known as Obidients, that the former Anambra governor must be nominated as the ADC’s presidential candidate, Salihu cautioned against what he described as preconditions for participation in party politics.
“They should calm down,” he said. “In politics, you don’t join a political party with conditionalities and pre-conditions.”
He explained that party members were expected to compete through established democratic processes rather than ultimatums.
“You join as a member, you harvest your votes, you put your credibility and you sell yourself to the voters, to the delegates. Eventually, the delegates will decide,” the ADC chieftain said.
He further warned that insisting on a “win-or-nothing” approach was undemocratic and could undermine the opposition’s broader objective.
“The idea of somebody coming up to tell Nigerians — not only in ADC, in any political party — that if my presidential candidate should win or nothing is anti-democratic,” he said.
