Vice Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has said he and the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would be out of active politics if President Bola Tinubu wins the 2027 presidential election.
Amaechi made the statement on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at the inauguration of the ADC Women’s League Conference at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre.
The former Rivers State governor urged women across the country to take an active role in the party’s grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said that women has the capacity to mobilize 2,000 persons to vote for the party from each ward which will translate to 17 million votes and outright victory for the party.
He challenged the women to return to their respective communities and mobilise voters for the ADC, saying the party’s grassroots structure would be critical to its performance in the election.
“The crop of leaders you see here, if APC wins 2027 election, we are retired from politics. So, if you don’t want us to retire from politics, then we must go home.
“This one to 10 is small. You should bring 2000 votes per ward. Just win your ward. Just bring 2000 votes per ward. You are bringing 17 million votes and we have won the election,” Amaechi told the gathering.
Amaechi said the ADC was counting on women to play a significant role in mobilising voters, recalling the role women played in previous political campaigns.
He also criticised the current economic situation in the country, particularly the cost of food, education and other essential commodities.
The ADC vice-presidential candidate claimed that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria had increased substantially, while also linking rising poverty and illiteracy to economic hardship.
Amaechi further criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had contributed to higher costs across the economy.
He said the ADC’s proposal to restore subsidy would involve what he described as production subsidy, aimed at reducing the cost of locally produced petroleum products and, by extension, transportation and other costs.
According to him, lower energy costs would have implications for the prices of food and other goods and services.
He urged ADC supporters to return to their states, local government areas and wards to campaign for the party’s candidates.
Amaechi also said the ADC presidential candidate had made clear that the party would not take the 2027 elections for granted, adding that the campaign would extend beyond the presidential contest to governorship elections across the states.
He said the party would work to mobilise support for its candidates at different levels of government.
The ADC formally announced Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate in June 2026, following the party’s presidential primary in which Atiku emerged as the presidential candidate.
At the women’s conference, former First Lady and wife of the ADC presidential candidate, Titi Atiku-Abubakar, also urged women to mobilise voters and participate actively in the 2027 electoral process.
She said women should not be intimidated during the election, stressing that voting was a civic right.
Titi Atiku-Abubakar also criticised the rising cost of living, citing increases in the prices of medicines, food and petrol.
She urged women not to allow temporary financial inducements or food items to determine their voting decisions, but instead to consider the longer-term interests of their families and communities.
“Women, this time around we have to get it right,” she said, while urging them to mobilise women and other eligible voters in their communities.
Director-General of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Austin Akobundu, said the party had established women and youth leagues as part of its grassroots mobilisation strategy.
Akobundu said the campaign would move from the national level to local government areas, wards and polling units, with party members expected to engage directly with voters.
He said the women’s programme demonstrated the role the league was expected to play in the party’s grassroots organisation ahead of the election.
Also speaking, PDP Women Leader, Hon. Naomi Lasara Abel, said the ADC Women’s League should go beyond voter mobilisation by organising women at state, local government and polling-unit levels.
She called for greater participation of women in legislative and policy-making processes, arguing that women should be represented not only in campaign activities but also in decision-making structures.
Abel urged members of the league to mentor other women in their communities and ensure that the initiative translated into sustained grassroots organisation.
The ADC has in recent months intensified its preparations for the 2027 election, including the establishment of a national reconciliation and peace committee following its primaries.
