According to a report by Daily Post Nigeria on Thursday, 16 July, 2026, a spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said the exit of Peter Obi from the party before the conclusion of its presidential selection process placed the South-East in a difficult position and reduced the region’s chances of producing the party’s vice-presidential candidate.
Okonkwo made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief while responding to questions about the emergence of the ADC’s presidential ticket and the selection of a running mate.
He was specifically asked why former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who emerged as the party’s vice-presidential candidate, had yet to publicly acknowledge his nomination on his social media platforms.
Responding, Okonkwo said discussions surrounding the party’s ticket should be viewed within the context of events that unfolded during the ADC’s presidential primary process.
According to him, Peter Obi had initially represented the South-East’s aspirations within the party before leaving the ADC ahead of the completion of the selection process.
He argued that Obi’s departure created uncertainty within the party and left the South-East without a prominent contender at a crucial stage of negotiations.
“The person who represented the South-East in that calculation left before the conclusion of the process, and that left the South-East disadvantaged and confused,” Okonkwo said.
He explained that once Obi exited the party, the political calculations surrounding the vice-presidential position changed significantly, creating a vacancy that the party found difficult to fill.
Okonkwo further stated that although several respected personalities from the South-East were considered by party members and supporters, legal provisions governing party nominations limited the available options.
He cited the Electoral Act, which requires individuals seeking nomination on a political party’s ticket to have been registered members of that party within the prescribed period before the primary election.
According to him, this legal requirement made it impossible for the ADC to nominate prominent figures who were not members of the party at the relevant time.
Among those he mentioned were Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and former Minister of Finance and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonkwo described them as highly qualified individuals but noted that they were ineligible because they were not members of the ADC within the timeframe required by law.
“Some beautiful names were mentioned. You talked about Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and several other respected personalities.
But those names were no longer members of the ADC, and the Electoral Act did not permit the party to nominate people who did not meet the membership requirements before the primary,” he explained…See_More
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