Former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has reportedly picked former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, as his running mate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
An ADC chieftain, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, though he noted that no official statement has yet been issued by the party.
Eze, a close ally of both Atiku and Amaechi, said the arrangement had been concluded but stressed that formal communication from the party leadership was still pending.
āIt is confirmed but no official statement is yet to be issued. Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi is the running mate to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar,ā he said.
However, there remains some uncertainty within the party structure, as former ADC chairman in Rivers State, Leader Sampson, also confirmed the development, while the current state chairman, Dr. Chukwudi Dimkpa, said only the national leadership of the party is authorised to make such an announcement.
Speaking separately with our correspondent, the ADC spokesman in Rivers State, Chizzy Enyi, said the former vice president had yet to officially announce the nomination of the former Rivers State governor as his running mate.
When asked directly whether Amaechi had accepted the nomination, Sampson simply responded, āYes.ā
The reported selection comes after the ADC presidential primary election, which was conducted as a direct primary involving over 2.5 million votes cast from the partyās 3.1 million registered members.
In that contest, Atiku emerged as the partyās presidential candidate after securing a landslide victory with 1,855,787 votes, while Amaechi polled 509,397 votes and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen scored 180,903 votes.
Before the primary, Amaechi had publicly stated that he did not purchase nomination forms with the intention of becoming a vice-presidential candidate.
Following the conclusion of the primary election, both Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen reportedly raised concerns over the transparency of the exercise, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the process.
However, political reconciliation efforts appear to have followed, including a reported visit by Atiku to Amaechi in Abuja shortly after the primaries.
During the meeting, Atiku was said to have appealed for unity within the party, urging stakeholders to work together in building a strong political front ahead of the 2027 general elections.
With Amaechiās reported acceptance, party insiders say the ADC leadership is expected to make an official joint announcement in due course.
