Political Showdown Looms As Magnus Abe Urges Amaechi To Resign As ADC Running Mate

Former Rivers South-East senator Magnus Abe has called on former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to withdraw from his reported role as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate alongside former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

Abe made the call on Tuesday while delivering a goodwill message at a gathering of the Rainbow Coalition held at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Abe argued that the 2027 presidential election should favour a candidate from the South, insisting that supporting a northern presidential candidate would contradict the principles of power rotation that Amaechi had previously defended.

He recalled Amaechi’s opposition to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, saying the former governor had argued at the time that Jonathan’s presidency conflicted with the power-sharing arrangement between the North and the South.

Abe questioned why Amaechi, who had previously opposed Jonathan’s continued presidency on the grounds of power rotation, would now support a northern candidate when, in his view, it was the South’s turn to produce the president.

“Today, the same man who led us to go against our son and our brother is now trying to lead us to go and support somebody from the North when it is the turn of the South,” Abe said.

He subsequently urged Amaechi to reconsider his political position and resign from the reported ADC vice-presidential ticket to align with Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.

“On behalf of all of us here gathered in Rivers State, we want to call on Amaechi to immediately respect his own position and resign as the vice-presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar,” Abe stated.

The former lawmaker also declared the Rainbow Coalition’s support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition, emphasising that the group was firmly aligned with the President’s re-election campaign.

“We are not just with Tinubu. We are with Tinubu. We are for Tinubu. We are by Tinubu. We are in Tinubu. We are Tinubu here in this coalition,” he said.

Abe further challenged Atiku to respect the principle of power rotation, arguing that the former vice-president had benefited from the political arrangement during his years in government and subsequent presidential ambitions.

His remarks add to the growing political debate over zoning, regional power-sharing and alliances ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with political figures increasingly declaring their preferred candidates and challenging opponents over their positions on the presidency.