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As the countdown to the electioneering activities for the 2027 general elections cycle nears with the April 21 deadline for submission of political parties’ membership registers and May 30 deadline for party primaries and resolution of disputes, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused influential figures within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to have President Bola Tinubu as the only contender in the 2027 presidential election.
According to the ADC, the alleged plot aims to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe, an expelled party member, as the ADC National Chairman. This, the party vowed, would be resisted by all means necessary in defence of democracy.
In a statement in Abuja o Monday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the plan is a deliberate attempt by elements within the ruling establishment to create confusion within the ADC and weaken what he described as the only viable opposition platform left in the country, just after the crisis of legitimacy has decimated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and weakened the Labour Party (LP).
The ADC maintained that there is no legal basis for any dispute, as its leadership remains firmly under Senator David Mark following a combined meeting of the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, witnessed by INEC officials, in July 2025.
According to the statement, the attempt to destabilise the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections is allegedly being driven by an APC governor in collaboration with a senior security official based in Abuja, as part of a plot to impose President Tinubu as the sole presidential contender.
The ADC described it as “shocking, though not surprising,” that elements within the ruling establishment are attempting to use Gombe as an instrument to destabilise the party and forcefully take over its leadership.
The statement added that the objective was “to manufacture confusion within the ADC, sponsor illegitimate leadership claims, and ultimately cripple the only credible opposition platform that Nigerians are increasingly looking to as a genuine alternative, leaving Nigerians no choice in the next general election, despite widespread suffering that the ruling party has brought on the people.”
The ADC questioned the desperation driving these anti-democratic forces to impose expelled individuals on the party or manipulate its structures through external political pressure. “Nigeria’s democracy cannot thrive where the ruling party seeks to capture, infiltrate, or manufacture opposition parties for its own political convenience and survival.
“Such actions represent a dangerous assault on democratic pluralism and the constitutional right of Nigerians to freely organise and support credible political alternatives.”
Presidency: ADC’s claims baseless
In its reaction, the Presidency dismissed allegations by the ADC that the ruling party was plotting to destabilise the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the claims as baseless, insisting that the issues raised by the ADC were purely internal matters for the party to resolve.
Onanuga said the crisis within the ADC had nothing to do with the ruling party or the President. “This is an ADC party matter. Let the party resolve its internal issues and stop its wild accusations against the APC and President Tinubu,” Onanuga said.
He added that the electoral umpire could speak for itself on issues concerning party leadership and recognition. “INEC will speak for itself,” the presidential aide said.
APC scribe: PDP utterly dysfunctional, no longer a political party:
Meanwhile, while the Presidency was dissociating itself from claims of orchestrating a one-party system in the country by engineering a crisis in opposition parties, National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, Felix Morka, has attributed the recent wave of defections from the PDP to what he described as the opposition party’s internal crisis and inability to provide a credible political platform.
Morka made the remark during an appearance on The Morning Show, a programme on Arise TV, while reacting to the growing number of defections from the opposition party to the ruling APC. According to him, the PDP can no longer function effectively as a political party due to internal crises and its inability to provide a credible political platform for its members.
He added that defections to the APC should be seen as an endorsement of the ruling party rather than a sign that Nigeria is drifting toward a one-party state.
“When people decamp to the APC, it is an endorsement of the party. It is a statement that the APC can offer what the opposition cannot offer, and that is not our fault,” he said.
Morka also dismissed concerns that Nigeria is becoming a one-party state, describing such claims as misleading. “When people suggest that the country is turning into a one-party state, that is utterly mischievous because it does not take into account the history and realities of a democratic society as we have in Nigeria,” he said.
Nigeria’s political landscape has seen significant realignments since the 2023 elections. The major opposition party, the PDP, once dominant with over a dozen governors, faces persistent factional disputes and leadership tussles that challenge its influence in several strongholds. This instability has accelerated defections, particularly among some political actors seeking alignment with the ruling party.
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