Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar won the African Democratic Congress presidential ticket on Wednesday, polling 1,846,379 votes to defeat former Transportation Minister Chibuike Amaechi, who came second with 540,117 votes. Economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen finished third with 177,120 votes.
This marks Atiku's fourth time winning a presidential ticket since 2007, when he contested on the Action Congress platform. His journey to multiple tickets began in 1993, when he vied for the Social Democratic Party nomination alongside the late Moshood Abiola and Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, finishing third.
Atiku's 2007 contest on the Action Congress ticket saw him come third behind the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of the PDP and late President Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP. He returned to the PDP in 2019 to challenge incumbent President Buhari, losing the general election. In 2022, Atiku defeated Nyesom Wike in the PDP primaries but lost the 2023 general election to Bola Tinubu of the APC.
Between 1993 and 2023, Atiku contested for the presidency six times across different parties. In 2011, he lost the PDP primaries to then President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2014, he contested the APC primaries but lost to Buhari.
Atiku has a pattern of challenging sitting presidents from his own party. He opposed Jonathan's second term bid in 2011 despite both belonging to the PDP. When Buhari moved to the APC, Atiku followed and challenged his re-election in 2019.
In his acceptance speech, Atiku said the ADC was "built through hard work, immense sacrifices and compromises, guided by our determination to rescue our country's democracy, which is facing its greatest threat since the return to democratic rule in 1999."
Analysts predict the 2027 contest will again be a three-horse race between Tinubu of the APC, Atiku of the ADC, and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress. However, they note that the fragmented opposition contrasts sharply with 2014, when opposition parties formed a strong coalition to challenge the ruling PDP. Without such unity, analysts believe the APC and Tinubu are positioned to win, as a divided opposition will split anti-government votes across multiple candidates.
