The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says it no longer needs a broad opposition coalition to defeat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC now believes it can win the presidential election on its own, even as it remains willing to cooperate with other opposition parties on issues that could improve the electoral process.
Abdullahi made the remarks Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Why ADC Changed Its Position
Abdullahi said the ADC initially pursued a broad coalition because it believed that bringing several major opposition forces together would make defeating the APC easier.
That strategy changed after Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso left the coalition and moved to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to Abdullahi, the ADC’s assessment is now that the party does not require a formal coalition to mount a successful challenge against the ruling party.
“The ADC doesn’t need a coalition to win this 2027 election,” Abdullahi said.
He explained that the coalition was originally viewed as a way of simplifying the opposition’s task, rather than as an absolute requirement for victory.
Opposition Talks Are Still Underway
Despite the shift in strategy, the ADC has not closed the door on cooperation with other opposition parties.
Abdullahi said discussions are continuing among opposition groups, including efforts such as the G-100 mobilisation initiative, which seeks to bring political actors together.
However, he said the current discussions are focused less on finding one presidential candidate and more on identifying practical areas where opposition parties can work together.
The distinction is important: the ADC is no longer arguing that every opposition party must unite behind a single candidate, but it still sees value in coordinated action.
Protecting Votes Takes Priority
One of the main areas where Abdullahi believes opposition parties can collaborate is election monitoring and vote protection.
He suggested that developing a common system for observing the election and responding to threats against votes could provide the opposition with a significant advantage.
“If we are able to develop a common protocol for election monitoring and for policing our votes, that is major,” he said.
The proposal could allow opposition parties to coordinate their election-day structures without necessarily merging their political identities or presidential campaigns.
The ADC’s 2027 Strategy
The party’s emerging approach therefore appears to have two tracks:
- Contest the 2027 election independently under the ADC banner.
- Cooperate with other opposition parties where joint action can strengthen election monitoring, vote protection and other aspects of the democratic process.
With the 2027 contest approaching, the ADC’s position signals a potentially important change in the opposition landscape: a unified presidential ticket may no longer be the only model being considered for challenging the APC.
