Fresh tension is sweeping through the ranks of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi, may adopt the party as their political platform ahead of the 2027 general elections to confront President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While a section of ADC members appears open to the idea — welcoming possible internal reforms to accommodate the plan — others within the party are resisting any moves to surrender control to newly arriving political forces.
Founded in 2005, the ADC has largely remained on the fringes of national politics until recent developments placed it in the spotlight. Internal crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have sparked fresh interest in building alternative alliances, with the ADC emerging as a potential coalition platform.
However, despite the attention, the party still struggles to command a widespread national structure. Sunday PUNCH reporters attempting to reach party officials in the South-East and South-South regions met brick walls, underscoring the party’s weak organisational reach in those areas.
The party’s electoral history has also been modest. In the 2019 polls, it secured a handful of legislative seats — winning three in the National Assembly and two in the Oyo State House of Assembly.
The interest in adopting ADC reportedly gathered momentum after it became clear that President Tinubu’s perceived growing influence within the Social Democratic Party (SDP) might complicate earlier coalition plans. The SDP’s National Secretary, Olu Agunloye, had publicly declared the party unwilling to merge or surrender control to any bloc.
Following this setback, ADC’s National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, expressed the party’s openness to become the face of the anti-Tinubu coalition. In the days that followed, the ADC was reportedly chosen as the preferred platform.
Some ADC leaders have since voiced support for the coalition move, viewing it as a strategic step towards unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In Ogun State, ADC Chairman Dr. Femi Soluade confirmed that internal restructuring was already in progress to align with the proposed coalition.
“There has been realignment, re-engineering and, of course, repositioning of the party right from the National Chairman, Secretary and some other national officers to make the coalition work,” he said.
“We are doing some fixtures at the regional and state levels to accommodate the interests of more than six blocs forming the coalition, whereas the ADC bloc is the senior partner with the allocation of a certain percentage.”
Lawrence Egbagiri, the ADC Chairman in Rivers State, also announced his readiness to step aside, declaring, “For the sake of the country, we are willing to relinquish our offices, and the party is glad about it.”
Similarly, Niger State Chairman Musa Hassan gave his backing — but insisted the move must be endorsed by the party’s national convention.
“But that should be after a resolution based on the national convention of the ADC,” he stated.
Bauchi State Chairman Hassan Haruna shared a similar stance, pledging to follow the national leadership’s directive. “Coalition means joining forces. Whatever notification we receive from the national leadership is what we are going to dwell on,” he said.
Party leaders from Kano, Kaduna, and Kebbi states equally signalled their support. Kano’s Musa Ungogo said: “Our party has been in existence for 21 years, and it’s growing daily. We cannot turn away people of high calibre who want to join us.”
Kebbi’s Hauwa’u Muhammed added: “The national leadership of our party holds the four aces. If they ask us to relinquish our positions to the new entrants, we will, if it will take our party to greater heights.”
Deputy National Chairman Nafiu Bala also revealed that ADC’s Gombe chapter had collectively agreed to step down. Bala explained, “The state leadership collectively agreed to relinquish their positions in the interest of party unity, renewal, and progress.”
However, not all leaders are on board with the idea of sweeping leadership changes. In Osun State, Chairman Charles Omidiji firmly opposed any move to displace the existing executive members.
He said, “Why would anyone come into the party and displace us? Who will receive the defectors? It is us… But if we have to negotiate, it will be a give-and-take situation. We will take some positions and leave some for those coming in, but we can’t welcome the idea of one person or group taking all the positions. It will be shared equally.”
In Plateau State, Chairman Sabiu Musa expressed similar reservations. “Why are we not going to incorporate new joiners? Our doors are wide open for that. But we are not ready to hold any congress at the moment to change the leadership and allow newcomers to take positions,” he stated.
Delta State Chairman Austin Okolie insisted that those loyal to the party must be recognised and protected. He argued, “If you change leadership, it means you want to replace the people who have laboured for the party. You can’t change the people who have laboured for the party… we harmonise and everybody will put hands together for the victory of the party.”
South-East National Vice Chairman, Chilos Godsent, warned against any attempt to impose decisions without due process. “It is very undemocratic if the newcomers request or impose conditions that the existing ward, local government, state, and zonal executive committee members relinquish all the positions for the newcomers without mutual internal restructuring of the party offices on a win-win basis,” he cautioned.
Benue State Chairman Celestine Orbunde stressed the need for balance and respect between old and new members, saying, “One thing I know is that the new members cannot just come and say they want to take over everything completely, as if the old members don’t know how to build a party.”
In Gombe, ADC Chairman Auwal Barde stood his ground against any form of forced leadership handover. “We welcome any positive coalition that will uplift our party, but we won’t hand over leadership to newcomers who barely understand our history and struggle,” Barde maintained.
