Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, has said he and other prominent opposition politicians may leave active politics if President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) secure victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Amaechi made the statement while addressing members of the ADC National Women League Conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
The former Rivers State governor urged party members to return to their various states and wards and intensify mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the ADC must work at the grassroots level if it wants to challenge the ruling APC in the presidential election.
Amaechi specifically appealed to party leaders and women supporters to take the campaign beyond Abuja and concentrate on securing votes in their local communities.
According to him, the outcome of the 2027 election could determine whether several members of the current opposition leadership remain active in partisan politics.
He said: “If you are not from FCT, go home and campaign. Me, I am going on Wednesday. I will not wear a suit, I will dress like a young man.
“Let me tell you what will happen, we the crop of leaders you see here, if APC wins the 2027 elections, we are retired from politics. So if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home.
“If you bring two thousand votes per ward, just bring two thousand votes and we have won the election.”
Amaechi also recalled the political mobilisation that preceded the 2015 presidential election, when the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and took control of the Federal Government.
He told the gathering that the opposition party would need a similar grassroots strategy to mount an effective challenge against the APC in 2027.
The former Minister of Transportation said women would have an important role to play in the mobilisation process, particularly at the ward and community levels.
He argued that political parties could not depend solely on rallies in major cities to win presidential elections, stressing the importance of getting supporters to participate in voting across the country.
Amaechi said he would personally visit several states as part of efforts to mobilise support for the ADC and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
He mentioned Kebbi, Yola, Rivers and Delta among the places where he intends to campaign for the party’s candidates.
He said, “We will not take any election lightly. You will see me in Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, Delta fighting for the governorship elections, because the presidential candidate cannot govern without the governors.”
The ADC is fielding former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate, with Amaechi serving as his running mate.
The party formally announced Amaechi’s emergence as Atiku’s running mate in June after he had earlier contested the ADC presidential primary.
Amaechi had initially sought the ADC presidential ticket but lost the primary to Atiku.
Following the contest, he accepted the vice-presidential position and has since become one of the leading figures in the party’s campaign for the 2027 election.
His latest comments also come against the backdrop of a divided opposition ahead of the election.
Peter Obi, who was previously associated with the ADC, is now contesting the presidency under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), with former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
The development has left the major opposition politicians pursuing separate platforms as they seek to challenge Tinubu and the APC in 2027.
The ADC has continued to build its campaign around Atiku and Amaechi, while the NDC is campaigning with the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.
At the Abuja conference, Amaechi further criticised the economic situation in the country and urged women supporters not to allow themselves to be discouraged during the election campaign.
He recalled how APC supporters were mobilised during the 2015 election and said women played a major role in the party’s grassroots campaign at the time.
He said the same approach could be adopted by the ADC as it seeks to expand its support base across the country.
