• Obi, Kwankwaso’s desperation supporting president’s re-election
• Many supporters won’t follow ex-governors to NDC
In July, 2025, opposition politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, Senator David Mark, among others settled for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the “coalition party,” for the 2027 general elections. The objective was to enable the opposition to present a united front against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s polls.
However, in a twist, Obi, alongside former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who joined the ADC recently, early this week dumped the opposition party for the newly registered Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
In this interview with NDUBUISI ORJI, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, speaks about the exit of Obi and Kwankwaso, alongside some of their supporters, from the ADC and what that means for the ADC and the opposition in the 2027 polls. Abdullahi also speaks on ADC’s legal battles, among other issues.
What is the state of the ADC vis-a-vis current developments? Last week the Supreme Court referred you back to the Federal High Court for the suit bordering on the leadership of the party and since last Sunday there have been some movements out of the ADC…
ADC is the party that we’ve been trying to build in the last two years or so. When we got the Supreme Court judgment last week, it was a good development for us. And the fact that the Supreme Court judgment removed the encumbrance that has stopped the David Mark leadership from acting, from providing leadership for the party and running the party, you know, was in itself a cause for celebration. We know some people were asking, why are we celebrating, especially when we are still very far? Of course, for us, it was a major victory.
The fact is that before the Supreme Court ruling, INEC was not dealing with us, and the party was effectively without leadership. But what the Supreme Court judgment did was to restore leadership to the party and created a condition where the party can begin to move forward again. And as you can see, we’ve announced dates for our primaries, and we’re going to field candidates in all elections. That would not have been possible before the Supreme Court judgment. So that is significant.
So, saying that we should return to the Federal High Court is neither here nor there. I mean, because the Federal High Court case had always been there. All those cases have always been there. But that has not been our problem, because we’re dealing with them. Our problem was the action taken by INEC to deregister the leadership of David Mack, or to derecognise the leadership of David Mack. That was the major encumbrance we had. And that was what the Supreme Court removed. So, saying that we should go back to the Federal High Court is not anything essential.
But for us, why did we come to ADC? We came to ADC because we were dissatisfied with the situations in other political parties, the condition that the federal government has created in those other political parties. That was the number one reason that we formed and built the coalition.
And we’re not satisfied with the way the APC government was running the country, and we felt that we had a duty to mobilise Nigerians and to move the country in a different direction. Those objectives are still there. Anyone that believes that the country is moving in the wrong direction, we will work with that person.
So, for us, that is the cardinal objective of the African Democratic Congress as a coalition. People give the impression that we have many court cases. We have three court cases, and those court cases are not as significant as they make it appear. So, ADC today is not encumbered by any legal challenge. And that is why we were able to release a timetable for our primaries.
The second issue of people who left for another party. Is it a setback? Of course it is. Is it such a problem for us? The answer is no. Because there is a way you look at it as a challenge, but there is a way you also look at it as an opportunity. Why is it a challenge? The challenge is that, okay, everything we’re planning, we’re planning with these people in mind, that they were part of our party.
Now they left, so it means that suddenly we will have a reason to now begin to re-calibrate and see how we move forward. To that extent, it’s a challenge. But how is it an opportunity? It’s an opportunity because now we no longer have the kind of pressure cooker environment that they created.
Because they were looking for a party that would guarantee them tickets, regardless of what happened to other aspirants. And ADC is not that kind of party. So that’s why we said the party they’ve gone to now is probably the party they needed in the first place. A party that belonged to one man that could even guarantee them tickets before they came into the party.
Maybe that’s the party they need. But for us, building a party like the African Democratic Congress and the kind of coalition we’re trying to build, there was no way we would have been able to promise them those kinds of things, without going through the due process that a political party should go through, which is the primaries.
You have a case in the Federal High Court which is bordering on leadership of the ADC…
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Yes.
Some persons are of the view that that creates a kind of uncertainty, such that if the David Mark leadership fields candidates and they win elections, and that judgment does not go in favour of this leadership, that it may be an exercise in futility…
No, no, no. I mean, you don’t even need a lawyer to tell you that that doesn’t make sense. At the time that David Mark was taking the action of producing candidates, was he the legitimate leader of the ADC or not? Do you understand what I’m saying? At this time, there is only one legitimate leader by the Supreme Court ruling. There is only one legitimate leader of the ADC, which is David Mark.
If in the future, they now take an action that says he’s no longer the leader, it cannot have retroactive consequences. That is number one. Number two, you say it’s about leadership. Go and read the electoral act. It says that any issue that has to do with leadership of a political party is not justice-able, and that anybody bringing such cases will even be fined N10 million.
So as long as we agree that the issue in the Federal High Court is that of leadership, it means that no court in this country has the jurisdiction to hear such matters, because these are internal affairs of a political party.
There are those who blame the members of the coalition for not doing due diligence before moving into the ADC…
No, no, no, no, that is not true. That is not true. You see, people who are looking for excuses to jump to another party will say all kinds of things, but they don’t owe us an explanation. They can just go ahead and jump. The ADC did not have any encumbrance at the point that we were taking over the party. We did our due diligence, and we know for a fact that the ADC did not have any issue.
The only case they had in court had been settled by ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and that involved INEC and everyone else. So, the case that the Supreme Court referred us to was the case initiated by Nafiu Bala. Was that there before we came in? The answer is no, because it was initiated about two full months after David Mark had already emerged as the chairman of the ADC.
The second case by the so-called National Forum of Legislators, was that there before we came in? The answer is no. It was contrived after we came in to say that ADC should be de-registered, because it did not meet the constitutional requirement and it did not win any election, which you know for a fact that it’s not true. If we don’t know any other one, you know that Leke Abejide won his election on the platform of ADC. Whether he’s in the party today or not is immaterial.
The third case is the one initiated by six state chairmen of the party. Was that case before we came in? The answer is no, because it’s a much recent one. So which case are they talking about? You see, when people want to create a narrative, you know, they just say things knowing that it has no basis in fact. And I’ve just told you, apart from these three cases, anyone that has any record or evidence of any other case should tell us.
Recently in Ibadan, the different opposition political parties met and agreed to field a single presidential candidate. And last Sunday, Obi and Kwankwaso, who we know are nursing presidential ambition, left your fold, the coalition. It seems there will multiplicity of opposition candidates. Would that not be playing into the hands of the APC?
Of course. It was difficult even together as a collective, as a single unit, as a single coalition. It was difficult to challenge an incumbent. But what the action of Peter Obi and Kwankwaso has done is to make it even more difficult, not impossible. But make it more difficult. Because what they have done now to create a three-horse race rather than a two-horse race. A two-horse race was difficult enough, but it was easier to manage.
Now we have a three-horse race. It’s not impossible for us, because the mission is very clear. But what they have done is to help President Bola Tinubu, because at the point, it was very clear that it was him versus the Nigerian people. But what they have done now is to have handed him a lifeline. Peter Obi and Kwankwaso, by their action, have handed President Tinubu a lifeline. And there’s no contradiction about it.
President Tinubu is beatable and we believe, because we are convinced that what he’s doing is hurting Nigeria and that Nigeria cannot continue the way it is currently going on under his leadership. And we know that all we have to do is to give Nigerians a credible alternative.
You said it’s not impossible having the opposition work together. Are you saying that there is a chance of ADC talking with Obi and others?
I said it’s not impossible for us to win the election, despite making it a three-horse race. I said it was difficult enough, but it was easier to manage because it was a two-horse race. Now by creating a three-horse race, it’s a bit more difficult but it’s not impossible. And don’t forget that what the declaration said is participating opposition parties. So, if Peter Obi and Kwankwaso and the NDC want to participate, they are welcome.
The objective is one. We don’t regard them as our enemies. The question is whether they will prove themselves worthy of being potential collaborators. And we will have to review that because they have shown us what they are capable of doing. Right? But if the objective is the same, which is to end this regime of anarchy going on now, we’ll be happy to work with them. We don’t consider them to be our enemies. There is only one objective. That objective is to stop President Bola Tinubu. So, if they prove themselves worthy of being potential allies, why not?
When the opposition political parties talked about a single candidate, were you talking about the ADC as the vehicle for that mission?
No, that matter was not settled. The matter of which political party was not settled. But at that time that we were talking, and up till now, the question would be, which is the most viable opposition political party? So, you are going to use the vehicle because at that point, PDP more or less, you see what it is. ADC is the only credible, viable opposition political party. And that’s why they tried to create this narrative of an ADC having a problem.
Obi in his post announcing his defection, said he was not desperate to be president, but that he is desperate to see Nigeria work. And he made allusion to internal issues in the ADC. What were those issues that the party could not manage? Why couldn’t the party dissuade them from leaving?
What issues? You see, that’s why I said Peter Obi does not owe us any explanation on why he’s leaving the party. But he should not say things that would make people like us, who know the truth, to challenge his credibility. Who is the National Organising Secretary of ADC today? Peter Obi brought him. And as you know, the National Organising Secretary of a party is the engine of the party. That opportunity was not given to any other of the leaders. There are other key positions in the party that were given to him.
I was the secretary of the coalition, before we even came to the ADC. We would not hold any meeting if I did not get a confirmation from Peter about when he would come, whether he would be available or not. We would not even fix a date, until he decided the date. That’s a secret that other leaders probably did not know – that it was Peter that was determining when we would have a meeting.
The coalition is believed in some quarters to be all about Atiku, to advance his presidential bid…
How? How is it about Atiku? Okay, let me tell you a story. This building, the ADC National Secretariat that we are in now, was ceded to us by Atiku. For four months, we did not have an office. Do you know why? Because when this office was offered, the National Chairman of the party, David Mack, said he would not occupy this office because he did not want people to say, that this is an Atiku party.
And we did not move in until he called Peter Obi, called Amaechi, and called all of them, to ask them whether they did have a problem with us moving into this building or not. That’s just one example. But nobody in this party today, can tell you that Atiku has any chance, or opportunity in this party, more than any other aspirant.
Okay, if the party is structured to favour Atiku, at what point did Peter Obi realise that the party was structured to favour Atiku? Was it after he joined or before he joined? Are you not aware that for a very long time, we were not even sure whether Peter Obi, wanted to join the ADC or not? Are you not aware? Kwankwaso, so at what point did he realise that the party was structured to favour Atiku? He joined like one month or so ago. So, he didn’t know at that time, that the party was structured to favour Atiku? So, if people wanted to kill a dog, they give it a bad name.
What they are looking for is a political party that guarantees them tickets from day one. And they have found it. They have found it. So, all they talk about, I’m not desperate, their behaviour does not support their statement. They are in fact, betraying all the hallmarks of desperation. Have we done our primaries? Has anybody at any level in this party sat down to make a decision about where or who will be the presidential candidate of the party? Because you have to be able to say, oh I was in a meeting, and in that meeting they told me that I should step down for somebody. Did that conversation happen at any time? They should tell us. There was no such conversation. It is after the Supreme Court ruling that the party is turning its attention to that question. But what did they do? They jumped. Nobody pushed them. They jumped.
So all these talks about, I’m not desperate to be president, I’m desperate to make Nigeria work, they are desperate. And they have demonstrated all behaviour of desperate people. So, if he says he’s desperate to make Nigeria work, is he the only one that’s desperate to make Nigeria work? Are other people not desperate to make Nigeria work?
He doesn’t want primaries anywhere. He just wants to walk in, and we hand him the ticket. And in this matter, what is worse, he’s not just wanting the ticket, he also wants to decide who will be the running mate. Have you seen that kind of thing before?
Is that the bone of contention?
No! What I’m saying is that, that’s what they have displayed. To say that it’s a bone of contention means that we have had that conversation. I’m telling you that that conversation has not happened. That conversation has not happened.
The kind of thing they are looking for is possible in a one-man party, like NDC. But in a party that is built on a coalition, that requires a balancing of contending interests, that kind of thing is not possible. We have to go through a process. There has to be a democratic process that we have to go through. So, if this is democracy, how do you expect us to just hand you the ticket? It doesn’t work that way.
After handing you the ticket, won’t you need other people to work with you to win the election? So, they are looking for a platform, to contest the election. We are building a coalition that is capable of winning the election. That is the fundamental disagreement. We want to win the election, because we know, that it is by winning the election that we can rescue Nigeria. That is the promise we are making.
But they just want to be on the ballot. They want to contest the election. And what they have done is to create a three-horse race that will make it easier for President Bola Tinubu to continue in power.
What is the position of the ADC on zoning, especially as it concerns the office of President?
I keep emphasising the same thing to you, that ADC has not taken any position on zoning, and I’ll tell you why. Opposition political parties don’t put themselves at a disadvantage. Opposition political parties take strategic decisions that can help them to win. If we were going to choose Peter Obi as our candidate, it will not be because we zoned to the South; it will be because we find that strategically, he is the most suitable to lead us to victory.
If we choose Rotimi Amaechi, it will be because we find him to be the suitable person that will lead us to victory, not because we zoned to South. If we give it to Hayatu-Deen or to Atiku, it will be because, we find them to be the most suitable that will lead us to victory. Opposition parties don’t zone, because by zoning, you have already disadvantaged yourself.
What if your most viable candidate comes from another zone? President Bola Tinubu is from the South. So, we have to take a strategic decision. Is it to also present a Southern candidate that can battle him, or to present a Northern candidate? So, these are the considerations for an opposition political party. And we have not even had that conversation. Because, the reason we’re celebrating, after the Supreme Court judgment, is that now we can focus on the business of preparing for election, even though it’s pressure cooker because of the deadlines that are so tight.
That night that we got the Supreme Court judgment, we went to work to meet INEC deadline. So what time did we have to begin to have this? But apparently, we’re moving too slowly for them. They needed a quick and easy solution.
There’s no doubt, that some of your members or supporters will go with them, and that may reduce the followership of the ADC…
That is okay
What’s the plan of the party to remain formidable in the run-up to the election?
We will remain formidable. We will always rely on the strength of our membership. But you know that membership alone doesn’t win an election. They came with their own supporters, and from what is clear, what is on ground today, not all their supporters are agreeing with them. Because many of their supporters are wondering, why are we doing this?
Peter Obi’s supporters, many of them are wondering, why are we jumping from one political party to another? Why can’t we stay and build a political party together with other people? They are asking those questions. Many of them who were young people – 18, 19, in 2023, are now 20 something and are thinking of having families of their own.
So, they are asking questions. And many of them are not following them. Many of the Kwankwaso supporters, who followed him to ADC last month, are telling him we are not going away. We are not going because we have planted our roots here. Of course, there will be many that will follow them. But I can tell you, there are also many that will not follow them.
So, we don’t think it will affect our fortune. I mean, before they joined, what was the registration figure of ADC before Kwankwaso joined? You know… so we are not saying that it will have no impact. That’s not what I’m saying. But it’s not a concern to us. Because, like we have repeatedly maintained, the strength of ADC is that it has the ideological clarity – to be on the side of the Nigerian people.
What has brought us here in the first place is that we need to build a coalition that will be big enough, that will be built on the philosophy of putting citizens first. There will be a different kind of political party, a real political party that will play a different kind of politics.
We in ADC have told ourselves from day one, at the formative stage of the coalition, that the problem in Nigeria, the mess that Nigeria is in today, is because of the kind of politics we have played. And that Nigeria is not getting out of this mess until we play a different kind of politics. So, if we have the opportunity to build a new political party, we are going to build a political party that will be anchored on a philosophy of service, on a clear ethical framework. And that’s what we are working on.
Your party has passed a vote of no confidence in the INEC chairman, asking for his removal…
Yes.
In the event that he is not removed before the election, what will the party do?
We’ll continue to call for it. That’s what we can do. We cannot remove him. But we’ll continue to call for it, we’ll continue to maintain that we don’t have confidence in him. That he is running around in the APC jersey when he is supposed to be the referee in the game. So, all we can do is to continue to register that we don’t trust this man, that he’s an APC man, and call for his removal.
But those who appoint him may decide to remove him or not, we can’t force him out by ourselves. But the burden, the moral burden is on him. Whether you could have that kind of ethical question hanging over your head, and you can still carry on, and expecting that people will trust in the credibility of your handiwork.
There have been a lot of concerns about the Electoral Act. Does that Electoral Act inspire hope for a credible election in 2027?
The Electoral Act, I mean, is what the Electoral Act has been, and we are glad that many more people who are unbiased, who are not partisan, are pointing out the lacuna in the Electoral Act. It’s the worst Electoral Act under which we’ll conduct any election in the history of Nigeria. Because the kind of provisions that we are now hearing, that we probably missed as politicians, is now coming out from people who are able to pay closer attention to what is going on.
Now if an Electoral Act now says that you can manufacture, that gives a loophole, where ballot papers can now be printed, and they have to be accepted, and does not give the Returning Officer any strict liability, even when they conspire in rigging the election. So, what kind of law is that?
When you have an Electoral Act that says you can, that certificate forgery, certificate forgery cannot be the basis to challenge electoral outcome, what kind of law is that? What has happened with the Electoral Act is that APC has dragged Nigeria down to their moral level, which is extremely low, like dwarf level. So that’s what they have done. But like we said, the law is the law. And until it is changed, we have to work with it.
What is your assessment of the President Bola Tinubu administration – the executive and the National Assembly?
There is no National Assembly. This is the first time that we don’t have a National Assembly. Yes, on paper you have a National Assembly, but when you have a Senate President that is singing on your mandate we shall stand. The principle of separation of power is anchored on the expectation of what? Checks and balances.
So, you expect this positive tension between the executive and the legislature. Not disruptive. But something that can enable the legislature, which is the direct representatives of the people, to hold the executive to account. Is that what you have under Godswill Akpabio?
Did you hear the president saying, Akpabio, I will send you to go and scatter them as you like. Is that the National Assembly of the people? This Senate, under Godswill Akpabio, will go down in history as the worst Senate President in the history of Nigeria. Mark it. Because it has shown that, and they said it, whatever the President wants, the President gets. Is that what was envisaged in the constitution? That’s why I said, don’t even dignify it to say there is a National Assembly. You have a collection of politicians who are members of the APC doing what the President wants.
You asked me about the rating of President Bola Tinubu. I will not say that he is a complete failure. I will not say that. But it is difficult for me to imagine one area that I can say yes, the President has done well. Yes, it is difficult for me. Even as I am talking to you, I am thinking of one area that I can say okay, we can give him a pass mark in this area. I can’t think of any. The health sector? Quality of living of the people? Otherwise respectable people have become beggars, under this government because of their misguided policies.
On Sunday, somebody told me that the President has spent like N37 billion on travels alone. In a country where you are telling people to make sacrifice. In a country where you are releasing only N36million for the health sector capital spending. Or is it the perpetual burial that is going on in Nigeria? Nigeria has become one large burial ground.
I saw one report that says his approval rating is 32 per cent. I am even surprised he got up to 32 per cent. But a President that has 32 per cent approval rating is a President that is beatable. That is why he is scared. That is why they are doing everything do destabilise the ADC, including creating this NDC to divide the ranks of the opposition.
The government created NDC too?
Don’t you know?
Tell me, please
I am telling you anybody that is not working with the coalition, that is undermining the capacity of the opposition to provide a unified front against this government is working for President Bola Tinubu.
Sun
