Leaders of African Democratic Congress (ADC) have raised alarm over what it described as a deliberate plot to weaken and possibly eliminate opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring its survival a “matter of life and death” for Nigeria’s democracy.
The warning was issued in Asaba by the party’s National Publicity Secretary and former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, during the inauguration of the ADC Delta State Leadership Management Team and the commissioning of its state secretariat.
Abdullahi said the turmoil rocking major opposition parties was not accidental but pointed to a coordinated effort by the ruling establishment to narrow the political space. “We have seen what has happened to the PDP. We have witnessed the developments within the Labour Party and other political parties. The government wants a situation where, by 2027, only the APC is left standing,” he said.
Framing the ADC as the last viable opposition platform, Abdullahi added: “Today, the ADC is the last man standing in the opposition. We may not have the governors or the senators or the billions of others spend every day, but we have the people, and we have God. And by the grace of God, we shall succeed.”
While commending Delta State for its hospitality, Abdullahi’s message underscored a broader critique of Nigeria’s political culture, warning that democratic alternatives were being systematically hollowed out. His remarks set the tone for a gathering that repeatedly questioned entrenched practices within the country’s dominant parties.
Earlier, National Vice Chairman (North East) of the ADC, Babachir David Lawal, who represented National Chairman Senator David Mark, cautioned against the “winner-takes-all” mentality he said had damaged Delta politics and deepened exclusion. “In Delta, there is often a tendency for the winner takes all,” Lawal said. “But let me tell you: You cannot win elections if you exclude others. You need everyone—even your so-called opponents.” He warned party members against imposition and arrogance, insisting that elections cannot be won through exclusion.
Lawal sharply contrasted the ADC’s internal processes with what he described as transactional politics in the APC and PDP. “In APC and PDP, someone can misbehave and get away with it. A candidate wins a primary, but his ticket is sold in Abuja. Someone brings ₦5 million to the NWC and the name submitted to INEC becomes different from the one that won the election,” he said, adding pointedly: “Let me assure you: It will not happen in ADC.”
He cited a recent Ekiti primary where Senator David Mark refused to sign a certificate of return after discovering that a candidate polled zero votes in an entire local government. “This is the kind of integrity our chairman represents,” Lawal said, warning that attempts to overturn local outcomes in Abuja would fail. “If you think you will run to Abuja to overturn what is done here, you will waste your time.”
National Vice Chairman (South-South) and former Minister of State for the Niger Delta, Usani Usani, reinforced the party’s stance, declaring that the ADC was building a culture of transparency and discipline and dismissing reports of internal division as “a storm in a teacup.” He warned members that compromise would come at a moral cost, insisting that “fear has no place” in the party.
Former governorship candidate Olorogun Great Ogboru, who was inaugurated into the Delta Leadership Management Team, described the ADC as the first credible alternative that Delta State had seen in decades. “They never imagined that an obscure party like the ADC would rise and say no,” he said, noting that opposition figures who had “kept the opposition alive in the state for 25 years” were now within the ADC.
“We are here to create an alternative and give the people of Delta State the power to decide their own future,” Ogboru said, vowing that the party would not compromise its values and stressing that he had never bought or sold votes.
Those inaugurated into the Delta State Leadership Management Team included Olorogun Great Ovedje Ogboru, Dcn Kennedy Pela, Hon. Uloho Obaro, Engr. Austin Okolie, Hon. George Timinimi and Hon. Emeka Ozegbe.
