By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, on Saturday delivered what could be tagged his closing argument to party stakeholders ahead of Monday’s presidential primary election, declaring that the ADC now faces a defining choice between “serious leadership” and “recycled politics.”
Speaking at the “MHD for ADC” North Central Townhall held in Abuja, Hayatu-Deen urged delegates and stakeholders to treat the primary not merely as an internal party exercise, but as a historic decision that could shape Nigeria’s future direction ahead of the 2027 general election.
“The ADC primary is now only two days away,” Hayatu-Deen told party members. “Monday is not merely about selecting a candidate. Monday is about determining whether the ADC is truly serious about rescuing Nigeria and offering Nigerians a credible alternative to the failed politics they have endured for too long.”
In a speech that blended personal testimony, policy direction, and a direct appeal for support, Hayatu-Deen positioned himself as the candidate best equipped to unite Nigerians across regions, generations, and religious divides, while also warning the party against presenting what he described as “a recycled candidate carrying old political burdens and failed ideas.”
“I am not on the carousel of the same old faces that Nigerians have seen for decades,” he declared. “I carry no political baggage. I owe no godfathers. What I bring is experience, credibility, integrity, calm leadership, and a practical recovery plan for Nigeria.”
Addressing stakeholders from across the North Central region, Hayatu-Deen anchored much of his remarks on the worsening insecurity, displacement, unemployment, and economic decline affecting communities from Benue and Plateau to Niger, Nasarawa, and Kogi States.
He described the continued attacks on farming communities as both a humanitarian and economic tragedy, warning that “a nation cannot prosper when the region that feeds it is bleeding.”
Drawing from his personal experience growing up in Borno State, where his sister was kidnapped and held captive for three years, Hayatu-Deen said security under his leadership would no longer be treated as a political slogan, but as the first responsibility of government.
He also laid out an economic recovery agenda centred on job creation, agro-processing zones, youth employment incentives, women’s economic empowerment, and restoring productivity across the North Central region.
In one of the most politically pointed moments of the speech, Hayatu-Deen addressed the recent court ruling on INEC’s guidelines and defended the independence of political parties in managing their internal democratic processes.
“The High Court was right to affirm that INEC should not dictate the internal democratic processes of political parties,” he said. “INEC’s responsibility is to ensure credible elections, maintain fairness, and protect the integrity of the electoral process, not to interfere in how parties manage their internal affairs.”
He added that one of the reasons he entered the presidential race was his belief that Nigeria’s democratic institutions must become “truly independent, credible, and accountable to the Nigerian people.”
Throughout the address, Hayatu-Deen repeatedly framed Monday’s primary as a test of the ADC’s seriousness and credibility in the eyes of Nigerians seeking an alternative to the ruling APC government.
According to him “Nigerians are watching us carefully,” he warned. “They are waiting to see whether the ADC truly intends to become a serious national alternative or merely another platform for recycled politics.”
The presidential aspirant further cautioned that if the party fails to present a nationally competitive candidate capable of building a broad coalition across the country, Nigeria risks “four more years of economic hardship, rising insecurity, deepening poverty, and growing hopelessness.”
As he concluded the townhall, Hayatu-Deen made a direct appeal to delegates and stakeholders to support his candidacy at Monday’s primary election.
“And so today, I ask for your support. I ask for your trust. And on Monday, I ask for your vote to carry the flag of our great party as its presidential candidate,” he said.
The North Central Townhall marks Hayatu-Deen’s final major engagement with stakeholders before the ADC presidential primary scheduled for Monday.
