ADC South South Leaders Back Amaechi’s 2027 Presidential Bid, Says Usani

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and National Vice Chairman (South South) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Usani Uguru Usani, has said leaders of the party in the South South endorsed Rotimi Amaechi’s bid for the ADC presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 election.

Usani, in a press statement, said the position emerged during the party’s South South Leadership Meeting held in Port Harcourt last Friday. He explained that the meeting first focused on issues around internal leadership organisation within the party in the region before attention shifted to the 2027 presidential race.

According to him, Amaechi formally informed the gathering of his interest in contesting for the ADC ticket and asked for the support of party leaders from his geopolitical base.

Usani said, “He (Amaechi) solicited our support as people from his geopolitical base. There was a suggestion for a motion to uphold the request. A brief remark was made to recap the request and the import of having a general opinion on the issue by the regional leader, H. E. Chief J. Odigie-Oyegun.”

He further said the process moved to an open vote, led by Odigie-Oyegun, to test the position of the room.

“Ultimately, he (Odigie-Oyegun) called for a voice vote to respond to this appeal. At the call for response, there was a loud affirmative “AY” while a contra call had no “NAY” response. This applause was a pledge to support him, which can be interpreted as endorsement.”

Usani also noted that the show of support at the regional level does not remove individual political convictions within the zone.

He said, “Notably, this development does not compel individual actions based on conviction. It does not also imply that support base for other aspirants within the zone is non-existent. I find it compelling to offer this step-by-step procedure in order to guarantee the integrity of participants and equally secure the harmony of the forum as we look forward to more challenging eventualities in our general struggle.”

The statement positions the Port Harcourt meeting as an early political signal from the South South bloc as parties begin internal alignments ahead of 2027.