has crept into the African Democratic Congress following reports of its adoption by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, as a platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Amid the unfolding drama, Sunday PUNCH gathered that the party quietly amended its constitution to grant equal rights and privileges to incoming members, a move interpreted by insiders as a strategic step to accommodate high-profile defectors ahead of the coalition.

However, the move sparked resistance among some state officials, who vowed not to relinquish their positions to new entrants.

While a few expressed openness to leadership changes in the spirit of unity, others insisted they would not step aside for the new power blocs.

Founded in 2005, the African Democratic Congress remained largely on the fringes of Nigerian politics until recently, when talks about a possible coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections thrust it into the national spotlight.

The coalition drive gained momentum following internal crises in the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.

Despite its newfound relevance, the ADC still lacks a robust national structure.

Sunday PUNCH correspondents encountered difficulty reaching party representatives across some states, particularly in the South-South and South-East regions.

Though the party has won elections on a limited scale, the ADC’s electoral successes have not extended beyond the Federal House of Representatives and state levels.

In the 2019 general elections, the party secured at least three National Assembly seats, and won two Oyo State House of Assembly seats.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the coalition leaders might have settled for the ADC following growing concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s influence within the Social Democratic Party, which was initially considered to be their platform of choice.

The National Secretary of the SDP, Olu Agunloye, had declared that the party would not enter into any mergers or adopt external takeover models.

While negotiations between the SDP leadership and the coalition leaders continued to linger, the ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, declared that the party was ready to be the face of the anti-Tinubu coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

A few days after his statement, the ADC was announced as the coalition’s platform.

The ADC officials who spoke with Sunday PUNCH welcomed the development, declaring the coalition the right initiative to defeat the APC.

However, while some party leaders admitted that restructuring was part of the coalition plan, others stated that any move to impose a new leadership in their various states would be resisted.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Ogun State Chairman of the ADC, Dr Femi Soluade, said there was a need to give a sense of belonging to the potential new members, adding that tinkering with the party executives was part of the arrangement.

“There has been realignment, re-engineering and, of course, repositioning of the party right from the National Chairman, Secretary and some other national officers to make the coalition work,” he stated.

Soluade said, “We are doing some fixtures at the regional and state levels to accommodate the interests of more than six blocs forming the coalition, whereas the ADC bloc is the senior partner with the allocation of a certain percentage.”

In Rivers State, the leadership of the ADC expressed a willingness to allow newcomers to take up leadership positions.

The ADC Chairman, Lawrence Egbagiri, said, “For the sake of the country, we are willing to relinquish our offices, and the party is glad about it.”

Similarly, the Niger State Chairman of the party, Musa Hassan, said the state was also willing to relinquish positions for the new members.

“But that should be after a resolution based on the national convention of the ADC,” he added.

The Bauchi State ADC Chairman, Hassan Haruna, maintained that the state chapter would abide by the decision of the national leadership on party offices.

“Coalition means joining forces. Whatever notification we receive from the national leadership is what we are going to dwell on,” he stated.

The Kano State Chairman of the ADC, Musa Ungogo, and his counterpart in Kaduna State, Ahmed Tijjani, said they were also willing to give their offices to the new joiners.

Ungogo explained that the party’s symbol, a handshake, represented the coming together of people from different backgrounds to build a greater Nigeria.

“Our party has been in existence for 21 years, and it’s growing daily. We cannot turn away people of high calibre who want to join us,” he added.

Similarly, the Kebbi State ADC Chairman, Hauwa’u Muhammed, said the national leadership would determine the direction to take on the party offices.

“The national leadership of our party holds the four aces. If they ask us to relinquish our positions to the new entrants, we will, if it will take our party to greater heights,” she said.

Also, a Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, Nafiu Bala, disclosed that there was a decision by the party’s leadership to step aside in favour of incoming members.

Nafiu, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Gombe, said the state leadership collectively agreed to relinquish their positions in the interest of party unity, renewal, and progress.

– Chairmen

But the Osun State ADC Chairman, Charles Omidiji, said no defector would be allowed to displace the current leadership in the state.

He, however, declared that his executives were willing to negotiate and concede some positions to properly integrate newcomers.

Omidiji said, “Why would anyone come into the party and displace us? Who will receive the defectors? It is us. Let people defect to our party, but to hold the view that they will come in and displace us, that will not happen.

“But if we have to negotiate, it will be a give-and-take situation. We will take some positions and leave some for those coming in, but we can’t welcome the idea of one person or group taking all the positions. It will be shared equally.”

Also, the ADC Chairman in Plateau State, Sabiu Musa, said the party was not ready to hold a congress to allow newcomers to take positions immediately.

He encouraged new joiners to contest positions during the next congress of the party if they wished to be part of the executives.

Musa said, “Why are we not going to incorporate new joiners? Our doors are wide open for that. But we are not ready to hold any congress at the moment to change the leadership and allow newcomers to take positions.”

Echoing a similar view, the Delta State ADC Chairman, Austin Okolie, insisted that it was impossible to change the party leadership because of the coalition.

He said, “If you change leadership, it means you want to replace the people who have laboured for the party. You can’t change the people who have laboured for the party. If not for the people who kept it, you wouldn’t have met it for a coalition.

“So, when you are coming, you queue up with the present leadership; we harmonise and everybody will put hands together for the victory of the party.”

Also, the ADC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Chilos Godsent, said it would be unfair for new members to take all party positions.

He warned that any act of imposition or impunity would cause internal rancour and weaken the party.

“It is very undemocratic if the newcomers request or impose conditions that the existing ward, local government, state, and zonal executive committee members relinquish all the positions for the newcomers without mutual internal restructuring of the party offices on a win-win basis,” he said.

In his comment, the Chairman of the ADC in Benue State, Celestine Orbunde, said new members would not be allowed to make old members feel useless.

“One thing I know is that the new members cannot just come and say they want to take over everything completely, as if the old members don’t know how to build a party. There has to be an understanding among the members, both old and new. Whether the old members will allow a congress to change the party leadership lies with the national leadership.”

Similarly, the Gombe ADC Chairman, Auwal Barde, rejected what he described as pressure to relinquish seats for newcomers, saying while the state leadership welcomed progressive coalitions, it would not step aside for new entrants.

“We welcome any positive coalition that will uplift our party, but we won’t hand over leadership to newcomers who barely understand our history and struggle,” he said.

The chairman insisted that leadership changes should follow due process and not be imposed under political arrangements.

– Nwosu

Confirming the amendment of the party’s constitution, the ADC National Chairman, Nwosu, told Sunday PUNCH that the step was taken to ensure that everyone’s interest was accommodated amid the coalition plan.

“Yes, we amended the constitution. We are interested in being a vehicle for the transformation of this country, and because of that, we are completely willing to take any steps necessary to ensure that everybody’s interest is accommodated,” Nwosu said.

He disclosed that “critical areas” of the constitution were amended by the National Executive Council of the party, specifically for the coalition.

Our correspondents gathered that the last amendment was made on May 15 at the NEC meeting.

Speaking further, Nwosu said, “When it comes to politics, different individuals show up. So, we want to be sure that everybody is accommodated. The fact that we founded the party doesn’t mean that we own it. The principle of politics is public trust.

“Some of the areas we amended have to do with rights and privileges. Before, if you joined the ADC, you had to be a member of the party for two years before you could be voted for or hold a party office. But we have opened ourselves up for a coalition and to admit new members now.

“Previously, our constitution stated that you had to wait for two years if you were interested in contesting the presidency after joining the ADC. But we have amended that. Now, the power we have as members of over 20 years is the same power that everybody has to contest elections.”

He added that the ADC held about five different NEC meetings to amend the critical areas of the constitution to ‘help the coalition.’

Speaking on how to manage different interests in the party, Nwosu said, “It is the culture of every ADC person to be compliant. Our culture and tradition is a handshake, which means love and inclusion. What we want is to rescue this country.”