Renowned economist and former banker Mohammed Hayatu-Deen has formally entered the 2027 presidential race, picking the African Democratic Congress expression of interest and nomination forms valued at N100 million.

Hayatu-Deen received the forms from the ADC National Organising Secretary, Prince Chinedu Idigo, becoming the first aspirant to do so on the party’s platform. Party insiders and supporters described the move as a signal of early momentum for his bid to lead the country.

In a statement issued by his media team, Hayatu-Deen framed his aspiration as a response to mounting insecurity, rising unemployment and the soaring cost of living confronting millions of Nigerians. He argued that the next election must be a referendum on competence, security and economic revival rather than “politics as usual.”

He stressed that Nigerians are exhausted by pervasive fear and economic hardship, warning that no sustainable prosperity can be built in an atmosphere of instability. Security, he said, must be treated as the bedrock of any serious economic reform agenda.

Hayatu-Deen pledged to champion policies aimed at lowering the cost of doing business, easing access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, and expanding opportunities for young people through targeted job-creation initiatives. He said his decades of experience in the private sector have equipped him with the skills to build strong institutions, attract investment and drive growth at scale.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state House of Assembly polls will hold on February 6, 2027. Party primaries and the resolution of related disputes are to be conducted between April 23 and May 30, 2026.

INEC has also set August 19, 2026, as the start date for campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections, with governorship and state Assembly campaigns to commence on September 9, 2026. Within this timetable, the ADC has fixed the sale of its presidential expression of interest and nomination forms for a one-week window in May.

With his early purchase of the forms, Hayatu-Deen positions himself as a frontrunner within the ADC, seeking to translate his technocratic profile into a national mandate in a contest likely to be defined by security and economic recovery.