The African Democratic Congress, which is the platform of the coalition of opposition leaders, is making moves to convert no fewer than five sitting governors before the 2027 general elections, findings by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.
Insiders told Saturday PUNCH that the ADC would benefit from the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party by having some governors of the party join the coalition.
This is just as five leaders of the PDP in five states have resigned from the party to join the ADC.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former Senate President, David Mark, and other coalition leaders on Wednesday formally adopted the ADC as the platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Mark and a former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, were announced as the Interim National Chairman and Secretary of the party, respectively.
Prominent members of the All Progressives Congress, including former National Chairman of the party, John Oyegun; ex-Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, attended the programme and subsequently resigned their membership of the APC to join the ADC.
Similarly, notable PDP chieftains, including ex-National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former governors of Jigawa, Cross River, Benue, Imo, Niger, and Ebonyi states—Sule Lamido, Liyel Imoke, Gabriel Suswam, Emeka Ihedioha, Babangida Aliyu, and Sam Egwu, respectively —have also aligned with the coalition.
The serving senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, a member of the Labour Party, also attended the event.
ADC faces criticism
Since the unveiling of the ADC as the coalition’s platform, criticism has continued to trail its strength and the individuals behind it.
The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, warned that there would be consequences for members undermining the party, insisting that its leaders remained united.
A former presidential aide and pro-Tinubu commentator, Reno Omokri, described the ADC as a gathering of “rejected politicians and former political office holders.”
The National Vice Chairman of the APC (South-East), Ijeomah Arodiogbu, on Friday, said the absence of serving governors in the opposition coalition underscored its fragility and posed a major setback to its chances of unseating Tinubu in 2027.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Arodiogbu said unlike the formation of the APC, which succeeded because governors joined the merger, the current coalition had attracted no sitting governor and was already showing signs of internal cracks.
He said, “The coalition is already starting on a bad footing. The party they have coalesced into is already having issues. Some leaders of the party said they were not consulted and that they don’t want the newcomers. With that, it is obvious that there is already a problem.”
The APC chieftain said the coalition’s foundation was built on desperation for power.
“The lowest common multiple of the people driving the coalition is simply desperation for power. It is not about the Nigerian people. All they have in their agenda is how to pull down Tinubu and the APC. They don’t have anything to offer the Nigerian people,” he stated.
He also dismissed Ihedioha’s relevance in South-East politics, adding that the former Imo State governor held no electoral weight.
Arodiogbu argued that those behind the coalition were only trying to replicate what Tinubu achieved through the APC merger, but without the same political traction.
“One fundamental thing that worked for the merger was the joining of six sitting governors. And that is not happening now. Instead, the governors are coming to us. If the governors truly believed in the coalition, they would have joined them by now. But the big political forces are not joining them because they do not believe in them,” he added.
Five PDP govs to join us — ADC insiders
A credible source in the ADC disclosed that five PDP governors were expected to join the party.
The insider, a former senator from Katsina State, said, “Five PDP governors have given us their commitment; they are going to join us, but they want to see the end of Wike’s drama in the PDP. Hopefully, we will meet them by the end of their next convention and review things.
“What people don’t know is that some of the governors, including those in the APC, are supporting us. We started this coalition planning 18 months ago, and some APC governors were contacted about a year ago. So, they are with us, but I won’t tell you any names.”
Another insider, an aide to one of the former ministers and ex-governors, said he was aware that leaders of the coalition, including his principal, were in touch with seven governors on the move to sway them to the ADC.
But the source didn’t mention the political parties of the said governors.
“Why are you interested in knowing the governors we’re talking to? You want us to put everything we’re doing on the pages of a newspaper? No! But I can tell you that we are talking to seven governors, and they are from the southern and northern parts of the country,” the source said.
When contacted, the immediate past National Chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, declined to comment on the governors’ planning to join the ADC.
“That is a top-secret matter. You can’t hear it from me. If you ask about other matters regarding the coalition, you are very welcome,” he said.
This comes barely a month after a chieftain of the ADC in Plateau State, Dr Sani Dawop, disclosed that about seven APC governors had secretly been funding “an opposition coalition” against Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
Dawop, in an interview with Trust TV News on June 9, said, “There are about six to seven APC governors who are funding the coalition. Go and check and do your investigation. There are lots of issues happening, and even within the APC, there are those who are not happy with the way things are going.”
More PDP leaders join coalition
Since Wednesday, when opposition coalition leaders formally adopted the party as their platform for the 2027 presidential race, fear of mass defections has gripped the PDP, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that five more leaders of the party joined the ADC from Benue, Niger, Kano, Gombe, and Borno states.
In a letter dated July 2, 2025 and addressed to the PDP chairman in Mbabur Council Ward, Gwer LGA of Benue State, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Alex Adum, said he was leaving the party to “rescue Nigeria.”
Adum, a PDP member since 1998, stated, “As a loyal party man, I do not wish my new partisan endeavours to conflict with that of the PDP since the party leadership has elected not to formally join the National Coalition Movement.”
Another former Benue commissioner, Olofu Samuel, who served under the Ortom administration, also announced his resignation in a letter to the Edikwu Ward 2 chairman in Apa LGA, which he personally signed in Makurdi.
In Kano, a PDP chieftain, Ibrahim Amin, cited prolonged internal crises and lack of party cohesion.
In his letter to the PDP chairman in Tundun Wada Ward, Nasarawa LGA, Amin wrote, “The unending crisis arising from leadership tussles has seriously undermined the internal cohesion required for the party to progress. Furthermore, the lack of respect for internal democracy and the disregard for the party’s founding principles have made it impossible for me to remain in the PDP in good conscience.
“In view of the foregoing, I have decided to withdraw my membership and join the coalition movement committed to saving our country and restoring genuine democratic values.”
Also, in a letter dated July 3, 2025 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Suleja, Niger State, a party chieftain, Mohammed Mukhtar, said his decision came after “deep personal reflection and consultations with associates.”
Another Kano PDP leader, Mukhtar Adam, also quit on Thursday.
In his letter to the Tundun Wada Ward chairman, he cited “persistent internal crises at both the national and state levels.”
Also on Thursday, the PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate in Gombe State, Air Vice Marshal Shehu Adamu (retd), resigned from the party.
It is hallucination – PDP
But the spokesperson for the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, described the reported plan by some PDP governors to join the ADC as “hallucination.”
He said the focus of the party’s governors and other leaders remained on the upcoming national convention.
Ologunagba said, “Whoever told you that (PDP governors will join ADC) is hallucinating. Our governors are united, and the PDP is united. If anybody is imagining that there will be defection (of governors) from our party (to ADC), it will be in the realm of hallucination.”
Anti-Tinubu coalition will fail, says Sanwo-Olu fumes
Also, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has lashed out at the growing opposition against President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, insisting that their “ambition will fail”.
Sanwo-Olu made the statement on Friday while addressing a gathering of journalists and political stakeholders in the state.
He dismissed the adoption of the ADC by the coalition leaders as a mere ploy to distract the President.
“The target is to distract the Commander-in-Chief and derail the social and economic gains that we can see and feel, but President Tinubu knows the game and will never fall for their bait,” the governor said.
He maintained that despite the moves by the ADC-led coalition, Nigerians will still stand behind Tinubu in 2027 as the results of his bold reforms continue to unfold.
Sanwo-Olu stressed that Tinubu’s track record, achievements, and reform-driven agenda were more than enough to counter any narrative aimed at weakening his administration or his re-election prospects.
(Punch)
