The Southern Political Progressives Amalgamation Forum (SPPAF) has warned the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against adopting former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as a vice-presidential candidate, arguing that such a move could expose the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to pre-election litigation.

The group said any joint ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate and Amaechi as his running mate could face legal challenges capable of undermining the opposition’s electoral prospects.

SPPAF Convener, Fidel Anga, in a statement, urged the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of the ADC to avoid political arrangements that could expose the party to avoidable legal disputes ahead of the 2027 general election.

The forum cited the 2020 Supreme Court judgment that nullified the election of former Bayelsa State governor-elect David Lyon over issues relating to the qualifications of his running mate, arguing that the case illustrates how legal disputes involving one member of a joint ticket could affect the entire candidature.

According to the group, the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry and the White Paper issued by the Rivers State Government on Amaechi’s administration could provide grounds for political opponents to institute pre-election suits if he emerges as a vice-presidential candidate.

Amaechi has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing during his tenure as governor of Rivers State, and no court has convicted him in relation to the allegations referenced by the group.

But the forum alleged that an Atiku-Amaechi ticket would be vulnerable to legal challenges.

“An Atiku-Amaechi ticket plays directly into the hands of this alliance. The APC machinery does not need to defeat such a ticket at the ballot box; they are fully prepared to destroy it in the courts using the David Lyon Bayelsa governorship precedent.

“As a stark reminder, in 2020, David Lyon won the Bayelsa governorship election decisively, only to be sacked by the Supreme Court less than 24 hours before his swearing-in because his running mate presented conflicting documents with discrepant names. Since a joint ticket is legally indivisible, the running mate’s flaw instantly disqualified the entire victory, handing power directly to the opposition,” the statement said.

The forum urged the ADC leadership to prioritise candidates it described as legally unencumbered to safeguard the party’s electoral chances.

It added that the party should focus on building a broad-based coalition around candidates capable of withstanding both political and legal scrutiny, warning that avoidable legal disputes could weaken the opposition’s bid for power in 2027.

“The ADC must reject any alliance tied to heavily compromised political actors and instead focus on unassailable, legally clean candidates who cannot be dismantled by technicalities in a court of law”, it said.