Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has visited former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi at his Abuja residence, hours after emerging as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general election.

According to Channels Television, the meeting followed the ADC presidential primary held on Wednesday, where Atiku defeated Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen to secure the party’s ticket.

The party announced that Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes, while Amaechi secured 504,117 votes and Hayatu-Deen received 177,120 votes.

In a statement after the visit, Atiku said the discussion focused on Nigeria’s worsening economic hardship, insecurity and the need for patriotic Nigerians to work together to rescue the country from what he described as “drift and despair”.

He also congratulated Amaechi on his birthday and joked about Arsenal’s recent success, describing the former minister as a passionate supporter of the English club.

“Atiku and Amaechi had deep and honest conversations about the troubling state of the nation, the growing economic pain and insecurity,” the report said.

Despite the cordial visit, tensions remain within the party following the primary election. Amaechi rejected the outcome of the exercise, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement during the process.

Hayatu-Deen also questioned the credibility of the primary and declined to attend the official announcement of the results, citing alleged vote manipulation.

However, ADC National Chairman David Mark defended the conduct of the primary, saying members were allowed to freely choose their preferred candidate, although he admitted there was room for improvement.

Atiku and Amaechi joined the ADC in July 2025 as part of a broader opposition coalition seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.