Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has urged the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to consider presenting a southern presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.

Speaking in Kano on Wednesday, Amaechi said the party’s choice of candidate must be guided by competence, age, and Nigeria’s prevailing power-sharing arrangement.
The former Rivers State governor stressed that the ADC must field a candidate who enjoys broad acceptance in the South if it hopes to make meaningful electoral gains.

“I will support whoever emerges. But the party must carefully identify the best material—someone capable of convincing Nigerians that real change is possible,” Amaechi said.

He explained that beyond competence and age, the ADC must respect the country’s unwritten power-rotation convention, which, according to him, favours the South in 2027.

“First is capacity, second is age, and third is respect for the unwritten law of power rotation. It is the South’s turn,” he said.

Amaechi argued that allowing the South to complete an eight-year tenure would promote political stability and create a smoother transition when power eventually returns to the North.

He warned that fielding a northern candidate at a time when many southerners believe power should remain in the South could significantly weaken the party’s appeal in the region.

“If you present a candidate from the North, I’m not saying we won’t campaign, but it will be difficult to persuade the South to relinquish power,” he cautioned.

Despite his position, Amaechi reiterated his loyalty to the ADC, pledging to support whoever clinches the party’s presidential ticket.

“Whether the candidate is from the South or the North is immaterial to me. I will support whoever emerges from the primaries,” he said.

Amaechi also recalled that in July 2025, he expressed readiness to serve a single term if elected president on the ADC platform in 2027, promising to step aside after four years to allow power to rotate back to the North in the interest of national stability.