Defection: ADC hits back at Peter Obi, Kwankwaso
The furore that greeted Sunday’s exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is yet to abate. The ADC said their departure would not affect
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The furore that greeted Sunday’s exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is yet to abate.
The ADC said their departure would not affect the party’s fortunes.
National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said the duo’s exit, though a setback, was not a “mortal blow” and would not threaten the party’s broader objective ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also admitted that the coalition’s intention of presenting a single opposition candidate to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 had been affected.
Obi and Kwankwaso, who were presidential candidates in 2023, left the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) two days ago.
Abdullahi, who spoke on Arise Television last night, shed light on why the two politicians jumped ship, saying their departure was premeditated.
He said Obi, who was not ready to join hands in building the party, was only seeking a special purpose vehicle (SPV) he could use to contest for president in 2027.
Noting that the defections were significant, Abdullahi insisted they were not fatal to the party’s ambition.
He said: “I will be lying to say it didn’t mean anything. No, these are two significant politicians, frontline politicians in this country. When you lose those two politicians, then you feel that you’ve lost something. But it’s not a mortal blow.”
Abdullahi rejected Obi’s claim that internal legal disputes influenced his decision, saying the explanation was untenable.
He said: “I will refer to the statements released by His Excellency Peter Obi as the only credible evidence that I have of why they left.
“One, he said the party was beleaguered by legal challenges, which is true.
Read Also: ADC NEC dismisses Obi, Kwankwaso exit, moves ahead with convention, INEC engagement
“At the moment, we have only three cases, and these three cases, without trying to be prejudicial, are all flimsy cases.”
The cases, as listed by the publicity secretary, are the leadership dispute referred back to the Federal High Court, a suit seeking the party’s deregistration, and another challenging the internal congresses.
Abdullahi also rejected claims that ADC’s internal arrangements favoured certain aspirants, clarifying that no individual had been given undue advantage.
He said: “I can tell you that none of the aspirants has been favoured by the party the way His Excellency Peter Obi has been favoured. Which office is the heart of the operation of the party? The organising secretary is Peter Obi’s man.”
The spokesman said Obi’s concerns about fairness were not grounded in fact, adding that the former governor had ample time to assess the party before joining.
He queried: “It took almost six months before he made up his mind to join the ADC in December. Does it mean that before he joined, he didn’t see that it was an Atiku party?”
Abdullahi pointed out that Obi’s exit may have been premeditated, alleging prior political consultations outside the party.
“I think it’s premeditated. It didn’t just happen last Saturday,” he said, referring to meetings involving Dickson, Obi and Kwankwaso in the months leading to the exit.
Abdullahi said despite the defections, the ADC would remain committed to building a viable opposition platform.
Ruling out hostility toward the defectors, he said: “We don’t think they are our enemies. We are not going to go into a dogfight with them.”
Acknowledging the implications of their departure, Abdullahi described it as a manageable setback.
He said: “Is it a setback? The answer is yes. Is it a fatal blow? The answer is no, because the objectives are very clear. They are still the same.”
Abdullahi added that the exit would allow the party to refocus on its internal processes without external pressure.
He stressed: “In a way, it’s a bit of relief. Now, we can focus on really doing what we need to do without being under the pressure cooker that they were trying to put us in.”
Questioning assumptions that past electoral performance would automatically translate into future outcomes, Abdullahi downplayed the electoral weight of the departed politicians.
He said: “There’s no guarantee that because you won votes in the last election, you still have that somewhere.”
Why we left ADC, by Umeh
Senator Victor Umeh, who joined Obi to NDC, justified the defection, citing internal crises, leadership disputes and a desire for strategic realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking also on Arise Television, he said the ADC was not prepared to conduct a credible primary.
Umeh said some leaders in the ADC, who did not oppose the consensus, insisted that if it did not favour them, they would not support it.
The senator said he was not surprised by developments in the ADC, adding that he had earlier warned against them.
Umeh said: “We saw the infractions when we came in. But we had hoped that as the coalition progressed, things would take shape.
“Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as everybody wants to lead. That was the point at which the party started having issues. And I warned much earlier.
“Some people aspiring to be the party’s presidential candidate are saying that the only consensus they will accept is the one that will favour them. Once it doesn’t favour them, they are pushing for a direct primary.
“Also, we didn’t see the ADC being able to successfully conduct a direct primary.”
On the status of the NDC, Umeh said the party was free from all forms of encumbrances.
He added: “There’s no legal action pending in court against NDC. What we have is a mere threat. Nobody can come through the back door to cause a crisis in NDC.
“Before we chose the NDC, we had to look at the character of the people at the helm of affairs of the party. The major leader in that party is Senator Seriake Dickson.
“Going to where he is, you can be reasonably assured of sanity in the management of party affairs.”
Dickson: NDC validly registered
Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa West and national leader of the NDC, released a 2017 letter from INEC to counter allegations surrounding the party’s registration.
The move followed claims by Umar Ardo, a founding leader of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), that INEC deviated from laid-down procedures in registering the NDC.
In the letter dated March 2017 and signed by then INEC secretary, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, the commission acknowledged receipt of NDC’s application for registration as a political party.
INEC stated that the proposed name complied with constitutional requirements and directed the party to proceed with other registration conditions.
Dickson said the document proved that the NDC began its registration process in 2017 before it was later stalled.
According to him, when party registration resumed in 2025, the group updated its earlier application.
He dismissed the controversy over the party’s registration as “rumours, gossip, propaganda and blackmail” aimed at derailing political movements.
Dickson urged Nigerians to ignore the allegations and join the NDC to “reclaim and rebuild” the country.
