The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has outlined its plans for the first 72 hours of the 2027 presidential campaign.
It said the period will demonstrate whether the opposition party is fully prepared to challenge for power or merely participating in the election.
The campaign for the presidential and National Assembly elections is scheduled to commence on August 19, in line with the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The ADC Vanguard, a mobilisation group of the party, announced in a post on X on Tuesday that the party’s campaign would officially begin with a nationwide policy address by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
According to the statement, Atiku will use the address to unveil the economic policies, security reforms and governance priorities that will shape the party’s campaign, promising that Nigerians would be presented with “measurable commitments” rather than “recycled slogans.”
The mobilisation group also disclosed that the party would hold a national youth town hall shortly after the policy address, where young Nigerians would be given the opportunity to question the presidential ticket on key issues affecting the country.
It listed employment, education, technology, migration, housing and the rising cost of living among the topics expected to dominate the engagement, adding that the concerns raised would influence the party’s campaign agenda.
“Next will come a national youth town hall. Young Nigerians will question the ticket openly on jobs, education, technology, migration, housing and the cost of living. Their concerns will shape the campaign agenda rather than decorate rallies,” the statement read.
The group further stated that its vice presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, would convene a summit involving the party’s governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.
According to the disclosure, the meeting is expected to harmonise state-level campaign programmes with the national strategy, identify priority constituencies, address organisational gaps and establish standards for lawful protection of election results.
It added that the first 72 hours of the campaign would conclude with a nationwide grassroots mobilisation drive targeting wards, markets, tertiary institutions, professional associations and local communities.
The mobilisation group said volunteers would be assigned specific responsibilities, coordinators would receive performance targets, while each state chapter would operate under a defined campaign timetable.
Contrasting its strategy with that of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the group claimed the APC would depend on the advantages of incumbency and official visibility, while the ADC would focus on policy-based campaigns, organisational structure and disciplined mobilisation.
It added that the opening phase of the campaign would not be dominated by rallies or ceremonial activities but would instead project the ADC as “a government in waiting,” capable of explaining its plans, implementation strategy and how its performance would be assessed if elected.
“APC will rely on incumbency and official visibility. ADC will answer with policy, structure and disciplined organisation.
“The opening days will not be consumed by motorcades or ceremonial speeches. They will present a government in waiting, ready to explain what it will do, who will do it and how Nigerians will measure delivery,” ADC Vanguard concluded.
