How Atiku Nearly Picked Okonjo-Iweala as Running Mate Before Settling for Amaechi [DETAILS]

Former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, nearly settled on the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as his running mate before finalizing his decision to choose Rotimi Amaechi for the 2027 ticket.

The choice followed intense behind-the-scenes maneuvering and competing strategic calculations within the party hierarchy following Atiku’s primary victory, where he secured the ticket with 1,846,370 votes with Amaechi, his closest  challenger finishing second with 504,117 votes.

Party sources disclosed that a major faction felt the South-East geopolitical zone was the most critical region to leverage for the vice-presidential slot, especially to fill the opposition void left by the absence of a joint ticket with Peter Obi.

Obi left the ADC to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, eventually clinching the presidential ticket of the party.

The development led to high-level deliberation over prominent South-East figures, culminating in a discreet political mission to Okonjo-Iweala under the guise of celebrating her birthday.

A delegation led by a prominent North-East politician approached her to brief her on the draft agenda, but she remained non-committal. A source familiar with the meeting noted that the former finance minister did not give categorical answers, but she was said to have advised that the team “should search widely and consult well across the regions of South-East and South-South ahead of the election.”

As the Okonjo-Iweala initiative stalled, alternative options were floated, including former Cross River State Governor Senator Liyel Imoke as a South-South alternative to consolidate Atiku’s regional support. Insiders emphasized that the decision-making process was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

“The ADC’s decision to pick Amaechi was not a straightforward issue as it looked. Though he appeared to be their best choice ab initio, having come second in the primary election and being the stand-out candidate from the South. Some forces in the party, however, believed that a candidate of the South-East origin would do well for the party,” the Tribune Newspaper quoted a source.

Fearing that protracted debates over regional picking could fracture party cohesion before the campaign fully commenced, elder statesmen within the ADC intervened. They advised against any prolonged selections that could cause further division, pushing for a stable consensus.

Because Atiku had maintained steady personal communication with Amaechi throughout the internal deliberations, the party smoothly pivoted back to the former Minister of Transportation, officially announcing him on June 15, 2026, based on his national public profile and runner-up status in the primaries.