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The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have clashed over zoning, opposition politics, and the roles of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
In a post on X on Thursday, Keyamo accused the ADC of failing to clearly zone its presidential ticket, alleging that the party was under Atiku’s influence.
“The ADC is scared to clearly zone its presidential ticket, like the other major parties (PDP and APC) have done, because the party belongs to one man called Atiku Abubakar,” Keyamo wrote.
He argued that ambiguity over zoning could harm national unity, recalling that Atiku had pushed the Peoples Democratic Party into a similar position ahead of the 2023 election, which he described as “disastrous.” Keyamo further alleged that Atiku was attempting to “camouflage with Peter Obi” to secure votes, claiming Obi was supporting the arrangement for “selfish reasons,” including the possibility of a vice-presidential slot.
“Atiku wants to camouflage with Peter Obi and surreptitiously secure his votes and become President on a flawed template that will damage our fragile unity as a nation. And Peter Obi is supporting this contraption for selfish reasons… He will soon learn the hard way,” Keyamo added.
Responding in a lengthy post on X, ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi rejected Keyamo’s claims, describing his interpretation of zoning as inaccurate.
“On a serious note, your perspective on the issue of zoning is not correct,” Abdullahi wrote, recalling internal APC debates after the 2015 election where zoning was dismissed by some leaders as “a PDP thing” and “alien to progressive politics.”
He noted that APC’s presidential primaries had previously been open across regions, citing the participation of Rochas Okorocha, Muhammadu Buhari, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Atiku Abubakar, and Sam Nda-Isaiah. Abdullahi also argued that national unity required not only geographical zoning but religious balancing, accusing the APC of undermining cohesion with its Muslim–Muslim ticket in 2023.
“APC put a knife to this fragile rope of national unity when it settled for a Muslim–Muslim ticket,” he said.
Abdullahi insisted that the ADC was building a “winning coalition” and had not yet settled its presidential ticket, stressing that decisions would be based on clear strategy. He rejected claims that the party revolved around one individual, calling Keyamo’s allegation “a weak attempt at gaslighting the Peter Obi camp.”
“Finally, what you said about the ADC being organised around an individual’s ambition is not true. And every ADC member knows this,” Abdullahi concluded.
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