An exodus of key party members is about to hit the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), which is already hard pressed by ongoing litigation over its leadership.

Presidential aspirants Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso as well as their supporters are on their way out of the party just weeks after registering as members of the ADC. Lawmakers who defected to the ADC from Kwankwaso’s former party NNPP are expected to announce their resignations from the party.

Their next destination is likely to be the Seriake Dickson-led Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), and the move may be formalised as early as tomorrow, according to Buba Galadima, an ally of Kwankwaso.

The NDC itself was non-committal in its response to inquiries about the development, although it said yesterday that its doors remained open to politicians across party lines who shared its ideology and vision.

Galadima told participants at a unity summit of the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement in Abuja yesterday that Obi and Kwankwaso will announce their new party where they would pursue their ambition tomorrow.

He cited the crisis in the ADC as their reason for leaving.


On Friday, Kwankwaso had asked his supporters to resign from the ADC ahead of his own planned defection.

He joined the ADC on March 30, 2026 while Obi registered as a member on March 7.

Galadima, at the Abuja summit yesterday, asked supporters of Obi and Kwankwaso to be prepared for whatever critics throw at them on social media on account of the impending realignment.

His words: “As from Monday when our leaders declare on which platform they will run, I want to tell you that one of two things will happen, and I’m here to guide you about your response to what will happen.

“First they will sponsor columnists who they will deploy social media influencers to start attacking our candidates.

“For all of you in the social media and in the media, you must be prepared to respond to anything they are going to say.


“Respond to anything they will say against our leaders who we know are people of integrity and honour.

“We must respond to them with the ferociousness that is needed of an intelligent man…

“We must be prepared to be in the trenches to safeguard our freedom.

“Let no one deceive you that it is going to be an easy task and that during elections go to the collation centres if you are voting.”

Another associate of Kwankwaso, Ladipo Johnson, told The Nation in Abuja that “we are certainly going to formally declare for our new political party on Monday or Tuesday.”

Spokesman of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Dr. Habibu Sale Mohammed, said in Kano that Kwankwaso has ceased to be a member of ADC and will be formally received into the NDC soon.

Mohammed said Kwankwaso took the decision after a stakeholders’ meeting in Kano on Friday, attended by members of the NDC and the Peoples Redemption Party.

The meeting resolved that the NDC should serve as the new platform.

“At the meeting, we discussed the litigation affecting the ADC.

“With only eight days left for the submission of parties’ membership registers to INEC, stakeholders concluded there was no hope that the ADC would survive the onslaught against it. We had to jump ship,” Mohammed said.

According to him, the arrangement will see the NDC field Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for 2027, with Kwankwaso as running mate.

The NDC is also expected to hold its national convention in Abuja this week. Afterward, the Obidients and Kwankwasiyya structures will return to states and local government areas to mobilise ahead of the polls.

He also confirmed that key Kwankwasiyya figures have already exited the ADC.

“All Kwankwasiyya followers, including Yusuf Gawuna and Aminu Gwarzo who resigned as Kano State Deputy Governor, have left the ADC.

“They are to follow the leader (Kwankwaso) to any political party he goes to,” he said.

“The decision to join the NDC is to avoid the legal trap that could prevent Obi and Kwankwaso from contesting the 2027 presidential poll.

“This ensures Nigerians have an array of candidates to choose from, rather than a single compulsory candidate,” he said.

Obidient Movement urges calm, says Obi in ‘strategic consultations’ for 2027


The Obidient Movement said yesterday that Peter Obi was still in consultations with stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections.

The group, in a statement, called for calm among supporters, saying the consultations for Obi’s 2027 bid centred on getting the best for Nigerians.

Obi, it said, is currently engaged in extensive, high-level consultations with key stakeholders, political allies, and aligned movements.

It added: ““These engagements are focused on determining the most strategic and effective path forward in the best interest of the Nigerian people and our shared mission to build a New Nigeria.”

NDC: Our door is open to all

Deputy National Publicity Secretary of NDC, Abdulmumin Ohiare Abdulsalam, denied media reports that quoted him as lending credence to the possible defection of Kwankwaso and Obi to the party.

The spokesman explained that his earlier remarks were made within the context of political possibilities and ongoing consultations among opposition leaders.

But he said the party remains open to politicians across party lines who shared its ideology and vision.

“Ab initio, our party has been calling on both the ruling and opposition politicians to join what we call the ‘Noah’s Ark’ being floated by the National Leader of the party, especially considering the unique ideologies and policy pillars upon which the NDC was built,” he said.

“This suffices to say we do not foreclose nor coerce the defection scenarios to favour our party as we believe politicians are free to move to any party of their choosing.”

It was gathered yesterday that ADC leaders had reached out to Obi and Kwankwaso to persuade them to reconsider their decision to quit the party.

No head way had been made in this regard at press time.

Speculations about mutual suspicion and distrust among ADC leaders have been rife in the last two weeks.

The situation soon degenerated to name calling and war of words on social media by supporters.

The last straw, according to sources, is the recent summit in Ibadan where the opposition said they agreed to present a single presidential candidate to face President Bola Tinubu next year.

It was gathered that the organisers of the summit had told Obi that the meeting would zone the presidency to the South.

But when the communiqué was released, there was no mention of conceding the presidency to the south.

Obi, who wants to run for the presidency with Kwankwaso as his deputy, was shocked by the turn of events and felt that the organisers had deceived him.

Thereafter, he began to pull back from ADC activities.

Even before the Ibadan summit, he had been unable to get the assurance of the hierarchy of the ADC that the party’s presidential candidate would emerge through primary.

He suspected that there was a plan to manipulate the process and deny him the ticket.

He began talking about a Plan ‘B’.

He personally led delegations to his fellow presidential aspirant in ADC Rotimi Amaechi, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to seek their support for his ambition.

His supporters went on social media demanding ‘Obi or nothing.’

In many cases, they resorted to disparaging those they believed were not on Obi’s side.

Atiku himself may not have helped matters when, during a recent television interview, he sought to diminish the electoral value of some northern politicians in the ADC with him.

He said: Can you tell me among the current leaders in the north who has more votes than I have? We are talking of figures like Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, El-Rufai and the emerging political figures.

“None of them has gotten more northern block votes as much as I have got.

“Kwankwaso has only Kano votes. We’ll concede that to him. That’s why he’s a leader in the coalition. The absence of his Kano votes may affect us.

“But even in his own case, you can see how Kano is now split between him and his former governor.”

My supporters aren’t abusive like Obi, Atiku camps – Amaechi

Mr. Amaechi has mocked supporters of Atiku and Obi as being abusive.

He said the supporters are always on social media ‘fighting’.

“My supporters don’t engage in fights on social media. My people don’t fight.

“Have you seen any Amaechi person fighting on social media? It is between Atiku people and Obi people — and Obi people abusing me. We will never reply,” he said during an ADC town hall meeting in Lagos on Friday.

He said his own supporters are under instruction to steer clear of abusing political opponents on social media.

“It’s not because we don’t know English or we can’t reply. The reason why we don’t reply is that we always want peace,” he said.

Continuing, the former minister said: “The Obidients insist ‘Obi or nothing’, do they have the numbers? The Atiku people say ‘Atiku or nothing’, do they have the numbers?

“If you cause this kind of friction, it will be difficult to come together to defeat Tinubu. Focus on defeating Tinubu.”

NDC group launches prayers against ‘spirit of Abure, Nafiu’

Ahead of the planned defection of Obi,Kwankwaso and their supporters to the NDC, a support group of the party has been praying that it may not be afflicted by the type of the leadership crises in some other parties.

The support group, in a viral image it shared yesterday, showed a man extending a lifebuoy to a drowning figure in a green “Democracy” shirt. The figure is surrounded by sharks labelled “No Light,” “Poor Educational System,” and “Insecurity.”

In the background, a blue boat marked “Service to the People” and bearing the NDC logo carries smiling passengers, seemingly symbolising stability amid the turbulent waters.

Accompanying the image was a caption that read: “We pray against any spirit of Abure, Nafiu, Apapa and Arabambi. We bind, cast and rebuke you.”

ADC vows to field candidates in 2027 elections

The ADC yesterday rejected claims that it may not participate in the 2027 general elections.

The party said it remains committed to its objective of providing an alternative to the ruling party and preventing what it described as a drift toward a one-party system.

“The African Democratic Congress wishes to state clearly and unequivocally that we remain focused on our mission to rescue Nigeria from the failure of the APC-led government and to prevent the dangerous slide toward a one-party state,” party spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, said..

He stressed that the party would not only participate in the elections but would field candidates capable of competing nationally.

“Let us be clear: the ADC will present candidates in the 2027 general elections. Not just candidates, but credible, competent, and nationally acceptable candidates who are capable of leading this country out of its current crisis,” he said.

The spokesman maintained that the party is operating within the framework of the law and faces no legal barriers to contesting.

“We remain a law-abiding political party, fully compliant with the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

“There is no legal impediment to our participation in the 2027 elections, and any suggestion to the contrary is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and dampen the growing momentum around our party,” he added.

Abdullahi described the ADC as a leading opposition platform and said the party is intensifying efforts to expand its structures nationwide.

“The ADC stands today as the primary opposition platform in Nigeria, and we take that responsibility seriously. We are not distracted by noise.

“We are focused on the real work, organising across the country, mobilising Nigerians who are tired of insecurity, rising costs of living, and limited opportunities, and building the structures required not just to contest, but to win,” he said.

He called on party members and supporters to ignore what he described as speculation aimed at weakening confidence in the party.

“We urge our members, supporters, and all well-meaning Nigerians to disregard these baseless assertions. The task before us is too important to be derailed by speculation,” he said.

The statement comes amid heightened political activity and repositioning among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.