The African Democratic Congress (ADC), hyped as the engine room of Nigeria’s new opposition coalition, is battling to gain traction in the South East.
Apart from former Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha and his Rebuild Imo group, no heavyweight politician from the zone has openly embraced the party—raising serious questions about its political firepower in the zone.
In Imo State, adjudged the launchpad of the APC’s meteoric rise in 2014 in the South East, the contrast is glaring. Back then, the APC emerged from the ashes of ANPP, ACN, CPC, and APGA, triggering a political tsunami not just across the South East but across the nation.
Then Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha led the charge, dragging along Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, Hon.Emeka Nwajiuba, and a host of political bigwigs. With an incumbent governor, state assembly members, commissioners, and House of Reps members defecting en masse, APC became an instant force in Imo.
Three years later, APC tentacles spread to Ebonyi State when then Governor Dave Umahi defected to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Today, ADC’s story is different, especially in Imo. Despite heavyweights like former minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba and Athan Achonu being linked with the party, neither has taken the plunge.
Analysts warn that this lack of momentum or movement is a dangerous signal for a party positioning itself to unseat Bola Tinubu’s APC in 2027 and uproot the APC, PDP and APGA in the South East zone.
They further contend that one major stumbling block is the internal uncertainty within ADC itself. Ralph Nwosu’s resignation as national chairman and the appointment of Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as interim chairman and secretary have unsettled state excos of the party in the zone.
In Imo for instance, fears are rife that Ihedioha’s Rebuild Imo group might hijack the party’s structure and possibly sideline old ADC loyalists and exco members who built the party when it had little or no national profile.
“ADC’s silence in the South East is deafening.The party is failing to send out the right political vibes, Without clarity on the fate of state structures, it will struggle to attract the kind of mass defections that made APC a juggernaut.”said Chijioke Ndukwe, a political commentator in Owerri.
But the elephant in the room is Peter Obi’s indecisive posture. Despite being part of the opposition coalition, Obi maintains he remains in Labour Party. His supporters are confused. If Obi doesn’t secure the ADC presidential ticket in 2027, many believe the South East won’t take the party seriously.
“Peter Obi is the ADC’s engine room in the South East. Without him, there’s no magnetic pull for politicians to flock in,” said Mr.Chibuike Offurm, a political analyst.
For now, most South East politicians are playing a waiting game. The ADC’s stakeholders’ and Zonal Working Committee meetings which held in Enugu on Thursday may provide answers. But the question remains: Will existing excos in the South East give up their positions to coalition forces, or will the party fracture before it even takes off?
Others argue that the lack of movement is strategic in Imo and the South East zone.
“Politicians from the South East may be cautious because they don’t see a clear path to victory for now, If Obi and Atiku clash over the ADC ticket, the fallout could tear the coalition apart and leave Tinubu laughing to 2027.” said Eze Okwe, a public affairs analyst in Enugu.
For Uche Onwuka, an Owerri-based political science lecturer, there is still ample time for more politicians in the South East to join the ADC. However, he noted that such defections hinge on the certainty that Peter Obi—not Atiku Abubakar—will clinch the party’s presidential ticket.
“It will be a political tsunami in the South East if Obi secures the ADC coalition’s presidential ticket. What happened in 2023, when he was the backbone and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, will pale in comparison.” Onwuka said
Most political observers who spoke to INNONEWS contend that until Obi takes a definitive stand, ADC risks looking like a stillborn project in the South East, stressing that without the kind of political chemistry and decisive movement that gave APC life in 2014, the ADC coalition may fail to ignite the fire it desperately needs in the zone.
