Since it was unveiled last week as the official coalition party of some prominent opposition figures, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has attracted top politicians from the Nigerian North-east region.
So far, scores of top politicians from different political parties, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have joined the party in the area. The movement has sparked reactions, with some observers predicting more competitive elections across the region’s six states in 2027.
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While some have argued that the calibre of politicians joining the coalition portends trouble for the ruling party, others contend that most of the politicians are irrelevant and pose no threat.
The wave of defections began after an appeal by Atiku Abubakar, former Nigerian vice president and presidential candidate of the PDP in 2019 and 2023, who is from Adamawa State in the region and one of the top politicians who formed the coalition.
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The other key founding members of the alliance include former governor of Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi; former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former governor of Anambra and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, Peter Obi; former Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola; and former Senate President David Mark.
Shortly after the unveiling of the ADC last Wednesday, Atiku enjoined his followers to join the party.
Defections in the North-east
A former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Waziri, led those who heeded the call in Yobe State. The member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resigned from the former ruling party, citing the party’s ineffectiveness as an opposition as the reason for his desertion.
Other top politicians in the state who have also joined the ADC include Zainab Boni-Haruna, the wife of a former governor of Adamawa State and an indigene of Yobe, and Aji Kolomi, a former PDP senatorial Candidate.
In Borno, the defectors were led by Kashim Imam, a former chairperson of Tetfund and a two-time PDP governorship candidate.
Also in the train are Idris Durkwa, a former governorship aspirant in the APC; Sheriff Banki, a youth mobiliser and grassroots politician; Mohammed Kumalia, former Minority Leader in the House of Representatives and 2023 PDP Senatorial candidate for Borno Central; and Saleh Kida, the 2023 PDP deputy governorship candidate.
Others are Ali Wurge, former PDP National Treasurer; Babakura Yusuf, the 2023 PDP House of Representatives candidate for MMC; Abdulrazaq Zanna, the 2023 PDP candidate for Bama/Ngala/Kala Balge Federal Constituency; Maina Justice from Jere LGA; Fali Wubulari, a former House of Assembly member from Askira-Uba; Isa Kangar, the 2023 PDP senatorial candidate for Borno North; and party executives across the state’s 27 local government areas.
Just like in Borno, Adamawa also saw top politicians decamp to the party, including Aishatu Ahmed, former governor Bindow Jibrilla, former senator Abdulaziz Nyako, former senator Ishaku Abbo, and Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Federal Government.
In Gombe, Abdullahi Hina, a former senator for Gombe Central and Minister of Transport under the APC, Adamu Fura, a former governorship aspirant and retired Navy air vice marshal, and Hassan Muhammad, a former state Commissioner of Finance, have all defected to the ADC.
In Bauchi State, Halliru Jika, a former senator and the NNPP governorship candidate in 2023, and Sadiq Abubakar, a former Chief of Air Staff and the 2023 APC governorship candidate, led the defectors.
However, no defections to the ADC have so far been reported in Taraba State.
Shuaibu Lau, the Taraba North District senator, dismissed initial reports of his defection from the PDP to the ADC as false.
Can defectors give ADC victory in the North-east?
Opinions are divided on the likely impact of ADC’s emergence on the political landscape of the North-east.
“The combination and calibre of politicians decamping to the coalition party should be a real concern, especially for our party,” a member of the APC told PREMIUM TIMES. “At the federal level, the combination of Amaechi, Peter Obi, David Mark, Rufai, and Atiku is dangerous. At the state level, like in Borno, the likes of Hon. Kangar, Hon. Kumalia, Idris Durkwa, and others are not small-measure politicians,” said the politician from Borno State, who requested anonymity to avoid being suspected of disloyalty in his party.
“If you look at Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, and even Bauchi, big politicians have joined the party, and from all indications, more are also on their way. Some are waiting for the APC convention to see where the VP slot will go,” the APC stakeholder added, referencing apprehensions in the zone over the fate of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
“In Gombe, the likes of Hon. Barde have mass followership. If Senator Danjuma Goje joins the party, it will record a landslide victory,” said Abdulaziz Mala, a resident of Gombe and public analyst. He views Mr Goje as a potential defector because of his uneasy relationship with the ruling APC leadership in the state.
” (Former President Muhammadu) Buhari failed several times under the CPC to unseat the PDP. It wasn’t until the CPC, ACN, and others formed the APC that they succeeded. This new coalition can rattle the APC, too,” said Abdulaziz Galadima, a resident of Borno.
However, other residents believe that the impact of the defectors cannot be significant.
They said some of the defectors have never won an election in their political careers, while the others had lost political relevance.
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“The PDP in Yobe can finally breathe — the suffocating grip is loosening, and for the first time in decades, we are witnessing the rise of a genuine opposition,” said Aliyu Idris, a resident of Damaturu. “This so-called new alliance in Yobe State is nothing but recycling of failure. It’s dead on arrival. The same man who crippled the PDP has now jumped ship to the ADC. Betrayal, division, chaos, and the selling out of the party for selfish gains will follow. You don’t build a new house with rotten wood,” Mr Idris said.
“The ADC, like the APC, is not a party. It is just an alliance of politicians, unlike the PDP, which has structures in all the 774 local government areas of the country. Only the PDP has existed since its creation in 1998 and has never changed its name or allied with any political party. Those who left the party did so out of selfish interests,” Bala Chiroma, a chieftain of PDP in Bauchi, said in an interview with journalists.
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