African Democratic Congress Struggles For Foothold In South-West

Indications have emerged that the opposition coalition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is having difficulty establishing itself as a formidable political force in the South-West.

The ADC has yet to blossom in the South-West, President Bola Tinubu’s political stronghold and region, despite appointing former two-term governor and ex-minister Rauf Aregbesola as its national secretary.

Aregbesola was, before now, a trusted ally and political associate of the president.
Meanwhile, a message on the situation sent to the ADC national publicity secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, was not replied to as of the time this report was filed.

However, sources close to the coalition disclosed that Aregbesola, despite his wealth of political network and experience, has found it difficult to convince South-Westerners to accept and join the ADC as an alternative to the ruling APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Apart from the Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, who recently joined the ADC with his supporters, no prominent South-West politician has publicly identified with the opposition party.

A former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who was alleged to be part of the coalition by his political ally, Rt Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has since distanced himself from the group.

Although the ADC has gained some prominent leaders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the national level due to the party’s lingering crisis, the same cannot be said of the South-West. Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, for instance, recently denied nursing any plan to dump the PDP for the ADC.

It will be recalled that President Tinubu won only four of the six South-West states in the 2023 presidential election, polling 2,279,407 votes in the region.

Ahead of the 2027 polls, it was learnt that the president and his political strategy team are targeting victory in all six South-West states, particularly Lagos, where Tinubu was governor for eight years and subsequently had the state under his grip, deciding who got what politically—but he lost the vote of the state to Labour Party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi in 2023.

The president is said to be consolidating his political stronghold through appointments, patronage, and by ensuring that politicians are kept busy with the activities of independent support groups mobilising for his re-election in 2027.

This, it was gathered, has made it a tough task for Aregbesola, widely regarded as a grassroots mobiliser, to gain prominence for the ADC in the South-West.

A source within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, for instance, narrated how the former Osun governor attempted to make the ADC benefit from the internal crisis rocking the ruling party since Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa took over on 27 December 2023, following the death of his boss, the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

According to the source, apart from Osun and Lagos states, Ondo was expected to be another strong base for Aregbesola.

He said, “Aregbesola grew up and schooled in Ondo State. He has always been actively involved in the politics of the state. In 2012, he led the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship campaign and even appointed some Ondo State indigenes into his government in Osun. There is hardly any local government in Ondo State he has not visited. Those who chose him as the ADC national secretary know his capacity.

“Aregbesola was determined to reap from the crisis in the Ondo APC. He knew how Governor Aiyedatiwa had sidelined leaders loyal to the late Akeredolu and those who contested the APC governorship ticket with him in 2024. He was also aware of how some of Aiyedatiwa’s aides allegedly attempted to remove the APC state chairman, Ade Adetimehin, from office.

“In fact, some aggrieved APC leaders met with Aregbesola after realising that their governor was bent on relegating them politically. Some of Aiyedatiwa’s loyalists were already boasting that ‘it is Team Aiyedatiwa’s turn’ and that they would retire all old politicians in the state.

“These politicians considered leaving the party for the ADC. However, the timely intervention of the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who got wind of the plan, saved the APC in the state from disarray.”

The minister was said to have pleaded with the aggrieved politicians to remain in the APC, reminding them that their collective efforts delivered the highest percentage of votes for Tinubu in the 2023 election and that it would be more beneficial for them to remain in the party and deliver President Tinubu again.
It was gathered that this was one of the reasons Aregbesola’s visit to Akure shortly after his appointment as ADC national secretary could not make much impact, as no prominent politician came out to receive him.

The source stated that shortly after the minister’s intervention on the president’s instruction, three notable independent support groups—the Grassroots Movement for Tinubu (GMT), the Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG), and the PBAT Continuity Project—were founded to mobilise APC members and the people of Ondo State ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

It was learnt that these pro-Tinubu groups enjoy the backing of the interior minister to mobilise support for the president and give sidelined politicians in the state a sense of belonging in APC activities.
GMT is headed by Hon. Saka Yusuf, a former commissioner for sports under the late Akeredolu. AMG is led by its director-general, Olumuyiwa Asagunla, while the PBAT Continuity Project is headed by Pastor Femi Agagu, a former education commissioner, also under the late Akeredolu.

There have been allegations that Governor Aiyedatiwa is attempting to ban these groups and impose his newly formed support group, “Ondo State for Tinubu 2027,” as the only recognised pro-Tinubu structure in the state, but the governor has denied the allegation, saying that he only urged all independent pro-Tinubu groups in the state to align their efforts with the party’s official structure.

For the moment, the ADC is struggling to have a strong footing in Tinubu’s home region. Aregbesola, a former ally of Tinubu, has his work cut out to ensure his new party makes a good showing at the 2027 elections.

ADC Is On Ground In Ekiti, Says Party Chieftain, Bejide

However, an ADC chieftain in Ekiti State, Chief Bejide Dare, has said that the party is well grounded and is on the right footing in the state to make its mark in the 2026 governorship election in the state and the 2027 general election.

Bejide who is a former Nigeria Ambassador to Canada said the party is fast becoming the toast of the people of the state with the influx of people joining the party everyday.

‘”Members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties are leaving their parties in droves to pitch tent with the ADC,” he said.
According to him, his former party, PDP had been hijacked by some power brokers which caused him and some of his political allies to dump the party.

“In APC too, democracy has taken flight and so everybody wants to be at the place where democracy can flourish. And in ADC, we are going to conduct a transparent primary and I know other parties can’t do it because they will impose candidates on their people. Those that are aggrieved will come to ADC and we are talking to them”.