In a dramatic gathering at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, some of Nigeria’s most prominent opposition heavyweights—including former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar and ex‑Anambra Governor Peter Obi—strode into the limelight to unveil the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their chosen vehicle for the 2027 general elections.
Also present were former Kaduna Governor Nasir El‑Rufai, ex‑Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Senator Dino Melaye, Solomon Dalung, Dele Momodu, Senators Gabriel Suswam and Ireti Kingibe, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.), and a raft of other political veterans.
The coalition, spanning the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and sundry independents, declared its intent to “stop Nigeria from becoming a one‑party state” under President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC).
This alliance inevitably invites comparisons to the 2015 “Change” coalition that ended 16 years of PDP dominance—and with good reason. Then, as now, economic hardship and security failures fuelled voter discontent.
Yet the ADC must surmount deep factional divisions among its leaders, whose allegiances have shifted with every electoral cycle and financial incentive.
The latent distrust between longstanding PDP stalwarts and newer Labour Party converts threatens to sap momentum before it begins.
Indeed, the backdrop to the ADC unveiling is grim: consumer inflation, though marginally eased to 22.97 per cent in May, remains well above the Central Bank’s comfort zone; food prices alone rose by 21.14 per cent last month — a legacy of subsidy removal and naira devaluation.
Meanwhile, the IMF has urged a mid‑year budget recalibration to address lower oil revenues and persistent fiscal shortfalls.
David Mark, the newly appointed interim national chairman of the ADC, alongside interim secretary Rauf Aregbesola, insists that only a united front can unseat Tinubu’s APC.
Yet, as the 2027 countdown begins, the question remains whether this star‑studded coalition can transform sensational headlines into electoral success—or collapse under the weight of its own competing ambitions.
