Inside the ADC Coalition’s Bold Bid for Change

Nigeria’s 2027 Power Play: Inside the ADC Coalition’s Bold Bid for Change

A new force is rising on Nigeria’s political horizon, and it’s cloaked in the modest banner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). What began as whispers of a united opposition front has evolved into a full-fledged political alliance, aiming to reshape Nigeria’s 2027 elections and challenge the dominance of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). “What’s in a party?”, someone asked.  “APC or ADC, let’s take away the ‘P’ and take away the ‘D’, and we have just ‘AC’, shouldn’t that be the coailition political party that Nigerian’s desire?” Well, that was just a joke.

The Birth of a Coalition

On July 2, 2025, a motley crew of seasoned politicians and civic voices formally unveiled the ADC as the Launchpad for their grand electoral ambitions. The stage: the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. The mission: to offer Nigerians an alternative to what they called “a creeping one-party state.”

This new alliance features an unlikely mix of former rivals and power brokers, including:

• Atiku Abubakar – Former Vice President, PDP presidential candidate
• Peter Obi – Former Anambra governor, 2023 Labour Party flagbearer
• Nasir El-Rufai – Ex-governor of Kaduna, prominent APC defector
• Rotimi Amaechi – Former Rivers governor and ex-Minister under APC

Together, they’ve chosen David Mark, former Senate President, to steward the coalition as its interim National Chairman. Rauf Aregbesola is the interim National Secretary, while Bolaji Abdullahi serves as spokesperson.

Why ADC?

Faced with delays from INEC in registering a new party and the complexities of creating fresh political machinery, the coalition opted to adopt ADC’s platform. A ready-made party with nationwide structure, ADC offered a legal and logistical shortcut. Although the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was considered, ADC’s openness to reform sealed the deal.

Internal Tensions Surface

The coalition’s momentum hasn’t come without resistance:

• Dumebi Kachikwu, ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, has rejected the coalition’s legitimacy, accusing Ralph Nwosu (former ADC chair) of surrendering the party under dubious terms.
• Activist Aisha Yesufu intervened, clarifying that ADC was not merged, only adopted, asserting that no party can prevent others from joining its platform.
• Critics point to a lack of ideological unity, branding the coalition a clash of ambitions with no clear manifesto.
• Peter Obi’s proposal to serve a single term as a consensus candidate has stirred debate, with Labour Party leaders lashing out and labeling him a “political scam.”

Power Structure at a Glance

• David Mark – Interim National Chairman
• Rauf Aregbesola – Interim National Secretary
• Bolaji Abdullahi – Spokesperson
• Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, Amaechi – Presidential contenders / strategic bloc
• Aisha Yesufu – Civil society bridge and inclusion advocate
• Dumebi Kachikwu – Dissenting voice within the original ADC
• Ralph Nwosu – Stepped aside to enable coalition’s takeover

Timeline of Events

Date	Milestone
Mid-June 2025	Rumors of a “mega opposition alliance” emerge.
June 26	Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, Amaechi meet in Lagos to finalize alliance.
June 28	Ralph Nwosu and entire ADC exco resign.
July 1	Obi offers to serve only one term to unite factions.
July 2	Coalition publicly launched; top posts filled.
July 3–4	Kachikwu and Yesufu clash over ADC’s future.
Ongoing	Legal consultations to secure control over party structure.

What's Next?

The ADC coalition presents a bold challenge to the political order, but faces deep questions about unity, ideology, and trust. Will this be a new dawn or a recycled cast playing to an old script?

As the dust settles and the 2027 race heats up, all eyes are on this coalition. It may become Nigeria’s democratic lifeline, or just another footnote in its political story.