Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Vice-Presidential Candidate Rotimi Amaechi has warned that the party’s current crop of leaders could be forced out of active politics if the All Progressives Congress (APC) wins the 2027 election.

Amaechi issued the warning while urging ADC leaders and supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation across states and wards ahead of the election.

The remarks were made on Wednesday at the ADC National Women League Conference in Abuja, where he called on party members to return to their respective communities and begin preparations for the 2027 polls.

The reconstruction follows the selected Political Survival architecture, with a leadership-focused opening, brief summary, campaign development, historical context, strategic quotations, analysis and neutral wrap-up.

Amaechi Links Political Survival To 2027 Mobilisation

Amaechi told ADC members that the outcome of the 2027 election would have consequences for the party’s leadership.

He therefore asked members outside the Federal Capital Territory to return to their states and wards and campaign at the grassroots.

“If you are not from FCT, go home and campaign. Me, I am going on Wednesday, I will not wear suit, I will dress like a young man,” Amaechi said.

He then explained why he believed the party’s leaders needed to take the mobilisation effort seriously.

“Let me tell you what will happen. We the crop of leaders you see here, if APC wins the 2027 elections, we are retired from politics. So if you don’t want us to retire from politics, we must go home,” he said.

ADC Campaign Focus Shifts To Wards

Amaechi also placed emphasis on ward-level voting, urging supporters to concentrate on building strong support within their local communities.

“If you bring two thousand votes per ward, don’t win your ward. Just bring two thousand votes, we have won the election,” he said.

He further called on women to play an active role in the mobilisation effort, telling them to encourage their husbands and families to participate in the campaign.

“Men are controlled by their wives. Don’t let your husbands sleep, because if we win, you have won. We will not take any election lightly,” Amaechi said.

The former Minister of Transportation also said he intended to participate in campaigns for governorship contests in different states.

“You will see me in Kebbi, Yola, Rivers, Delta fighting for the governorship elections, because the presidential candidate cannot govern without the governors,” he said.

Amaechi Recalls 2015 Campaign Strategy

Amaechi also referred to the 2015 election, recalling how APC leaders mobilised women during its campaign against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said women were placed at the forefront of the campaign across states and were encouraged to participate actively in the voting process.

“When we were in APC and we wanted to remove your government, you saw what we did. We brought out the women. In every state we went to, women were in front,” Amaechi said.

He recalled that APC leaders held meetings with women, including at night, and urged them to come out and vote.

“We spoke to them, we met with them at night, and we made sure that we told them that if they did not come out to vote, we would not win. And they came out. We fought the war, and we won,” he said.

Amaechi used that experience to reinforce his argument for sustained grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 election.

Economic Concerns Enter Amaechi’s Campaign Message

Beyond electoral mobilisation, Amaechi also spoke about the cost of living and what he described as rising poverty in the country.

He claimed that the number of out-of-school children had increased from about 10 million to 12 million when he left government to about 20 million currently.

Amaechi said northern Nigeria had been particularly affected by the situation and urged women in the region to participate actively in the 2027 election.

“If you’re a northerner and you’re sitting here, you shouldn’t even be singing at all. Tinubu is taking you more every day into poverty,” he said.

He then urged voters in the region to take an active role in the electoral process.

“The thing you need to do is to take the battle into your hands. If all the women in the North come out to vote, Tinubu cannot announce any result,” Amaechi said.

Titi Atiku Urges ADC Women To Mobilise Communities

Also at the conference, Hajiya Titi Atiku Abubakar urged ADC women to work for what she described as the betterment of Nigeria and not allow themselves to be intimidated.

She encouraged them to persuade friends, neighbours and other voters to support the ADC.

Titi Atiku also raised concerns about the cost of medicines and other basic goods.

She gave the example of a medicine she said had increased from ₦400 to ₦1,000.

“If you go to the market, you cannot buy anything, even medicine. Yesterday I sent them to buy medicine for me. Medicine that we used to buy for ₦400 is now ₦1,000. I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she said.

“So where is the money? And we are in a cashless society, that even all the monies are being taken away,” she added.

Titi Atiku Makes Further Claims On Cost Of Living

Titi Atiku further alleged that some contractors were being denied payments because of their support for the ADC.

She also linked the cost-of-living situation to education, saying many Nigerian children were out of school because of the financial pressures facing families.

Her message to ADC women was to take the party’s campaign beyond major cities and into communities and villages.

“Most of our children are not in schools because the cost of living is so expensive. So, women, I implore you. Women, I beg you. Don’t let them come and buy you with food,” she said.

“And we have to go to all the corners of this Nigeria, especially to the people in villages,” she added.

What Amaechi’s Warning Puts Into Focus

Amaechi’s remarks placed grassroots mobilisation at the centre of his message to ADC supporters, while linking the party’s 2027 campaign effort to what he described as the political future of its current leaders.

His emphasis was particularly directed at ward-level activity, women’s participation and campaigning across states.

His reference to the 2015 election also provided the historical context for his argument that women and grassroots organisation can play an important role in an election campaign.

Titi Atiku’s remarks similarly focused on community mobilisation, while connecting the ADC campaign to concerns she raised about the cost of living, medicine prices and education.

ADC Leaders Face 2027 Mobilisation Challenge

The conference therefore produced a campaign message centred on taking the ADC’s activities beyond political meetings and into states, wards, communities and villages.

For Amaechi, the 2027 election is also tied to the continued political relevance of the leaders currently driving the party’s campaign, while his remarks urged supporters to begin grassroots work rather than take any contest for granted.

Both Amaechi and Titi Atiku called on ADC women to play an active role in mobilising voters as the party prepares for the 2027 elections.