By Obike Ukoh
When the late politician and statesman, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, was alive, he told All Peoples Party (APP) supporters in Ebonyi State that the party was not formed to be in the opposition. He stressed that no political party is formed to be in the opposition, adding that if they work hard, one day the party will be in power. Onu, the first executive governor of old Abia State, spoke to party supporters after the party lost the 2007 governorship election to the PDP.
Onu was the party’s governorship flagbearer in 1999, when the party was defeated by the PDP. The role played by Onu, also a former Minister of Science and Innovation, in the political realignment that led to the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC), is now part of Nigeria’s political history. Though many of the gladiators involved in the political engineering that led to the ouster of the PDP have presidential ambitions, they did not manifest that from the onset.
The raison d’etre for the formation of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was the same reason that gave birth to the APC: To dislodge the ruling party. But unlike the APC, it appears that the ADC is starting on a latent struggle for supremacy by those who have presidential ambitions. Even when the party is yet to consolidate, there are already three visible presidential candidates: Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Obi. Even ahead of the primaries to pick the ADC presidential candidates, analysts have drawn the attention of the party leaders to some historical developments.
They say that in 2014, the primaries of the PDP destroyed the party, adding that Atiku Abubakar was at the centre of the crisis. They said he left the PDP and joined in the formation of the APC. They also pointed out that in 2023, the PDP primaries destroyed the party, adding that “ they have not been able to settle the problem the primaries created, even as we go into the 2027 election. ‘’
In apparent response to some of the missiles being thrown at Atiku, a former presidential candidate and close political ally of ex–Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mr Dele Momodu ruled out any possibility of Atiku withdrawing from the 2027 presidential race in favour of former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi. Atiku, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, formally joined the ADC in November 2025, months after resigning from the PDP. The move was widely interpreted as a strategic step to secure the ADC’s presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general election. In the same vein, Obi, who garnered over six million votes to finish third in the 2023 presidential election behind Atiku and eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu, also defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the ADC. He formally joined the ADC on Dec. 31, 2025. There were rumours that Atiku might step aside for Obi, based on an alleged understanding that Obi would serve a single four-year term and hand over to Atiku in 2031. The rumours were dismissed by Momodu, who insisted that Atiku has no reason to abandon the race.
Momodu said, “Several people have asked me to advise former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to voluntarily withdraw from the 2027 presidential race. “When I ask them why, they say he is too old. Not that they know of any fatality awaiting him. Not that he is less healthy than President Bola Tinubu. “Out of unsubstantiated malice and prejudice, Tinubu can and should contest, but Atiku can’t and shouldn’t contest.” He noted that attempts to discredit Atiku’s ambition had become a recurring narrative in the media space. Atiku on his part, cleared the air, as he insisted that no 2027 presidential aspirant will step down in the ADC presidential race. Atiku, in a statement released by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, called on Nigerians to resist efforts by the APC to intimidate and weaken the opposition.
“Let it be stated plainly: the ADC is on a national rescue mission. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alongside other committed patriots, is central to this effort. Any call—overt or covert—for Atiku to step aside is a gift to authoritarian ambition and a betrayal of the Nigerian people.”
He added that the ADC is committed to ending the purported misfortunes brought about by the Tinubu-led APC, stressing that no form of intimidation, manipulation, or sabotage will derail this mission.
It continued, “The ADC has consistently affirmed its commitment to an open, transparent, and competitive process for selecting its flagbearer.
“At present, the ADC is focused on building strong ward, local government, and state structures nationwide. Disruptors and infiltrators must allow the party to do this essential work without interference.
“The party remains open and welcoming to all genuine opposition figures. This inclusiveness—not coercion is the soul of democracy.
“When the time comes, all qualified aspirants will present themselves freely. No one is stepping down,’’ Atiku stressed.
The recent views expressed by Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the LP vice-presidential candidate, also represent some of the media attacks on Atiku that his supporters complained of. Baba-Ahmed said that Atiku has been seeking Nigeria’s presidency since his NYSC days.
Baba-Ahmed, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, recalled that Atiku was already a presidential aspirant during his service year.
He argued that Nigeria needs a new generation of leaders, noting that many capable citizens are willing to address the country’s challenges.
He said they were discouraged by what he described as an expensive and difficult political system, dominated by godfathers and unfulfilled promises.
According to him, when I was doing my NYSC, Baba Atiku was an aspirant, and in 2018, we contested the primaries together. In 2023, we contested again, with me as a vice-presidential candidate, elsewhere, when his vice president had left him. And, for God’s sake, in 2027 again.
“There is a need for a new generation of Nigerian leaders, and they do exist. A whole new generation is waiting for a new leader to lead them to a new party.
“There are good Nigerians capable of solving Nigeria’s problems, but they are discouraged by an expensive, difficult and treacherous system filled with godfathers and broken promises.”
With hindsight, is imperative for the ADC to be very strategic in the method to adopt to pick its presidential candidate. To dislodge a ruling party is not a TEA PARTY.
The rumblings from the beginning is not a sign that the promoters of the opposition coalition want to avoid the circumstances that resulted in the eclipse of the PDP.
