…As APC chieftain warns party over Atiku, zoning crisis
The African Democratic Congress, (ADC), has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), of deliberately engineering internal crises within major opposition parties to weaken them ahead of the 2027 general elections, even as an APC chieftain has warned that the ADC itself risks internal instability over zoning and the growing influence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation while featuring on a television programme, claiming that the APC had a hand in the leadership and factional crises rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP).
According to Abdullahi, the ruling party’s objective is to eliminate viable alternatives and leave Nigerians with no real choice in 2027. “The crisis in Labour Party was engineered, the crisis in PDP was engineered, the crisis in all these parties were engineered”, he stated.
The APC chieftain argued that the APC’s alleged interference stems from its lack of confidence in winning a free and fair election. “But why were these crises engineered? These crises were engineered because the ruling party knows that in a free and fair contest, there is no way that they will win the election. Their best option is to give people no alternative going into the 2027 election. Today, PDP is no longer what it used to be”, Abdullahi stated.
The ADC spokesman, however, insisted that his party would not fall into the same trap, stressing that it has taken legal precautions to protect itself from similar internal disruptions.
“ADC is on a solid legal ground. Our team of lawyers took their time because we saw what this government did to PDP, LP and NNPP. Their plan is to ensure that no other political party survives apart from APC, so that by the time we arrive at 2027, people will be left with no choice, regardless of what they did to the people”, he added.
Meanwhile, a founding member of the APC, Osita Okechukwu, has cautioned that the ADC may be heading for its own internal crisis if it fails to respect Nigeria’s informal rotational presidency arrangement.
In a report published yesterday, Okechukwu warned that the growing influence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar within the ADC could lead the party to breach the North–South power rotation principle, which he said is critical to political balance and stability.
He noted that past violations of the zoning arrangement had triggered instability within political parties and undermined public confidence in the democratic process. “Respecting the rotational system is crucial to sustaining democratic rule and ensuring fairness in leadership”, Okechukwu said, adding that ignoring it could create tensions and weaken opposition parties.
His warning comes at a time when the ADC is attracting increased attention as a possible rallying platform for opposition figures ahead of the 2027 elections, raising questions about how the party will manage internal power dynamics while positioning itself as an alternative to the ruling APC.
