2027: ADC Accuses APC of Pressuring Opposition Governors Into Tinubu Campaign Council

2027: ADC Accuses APC of Pressuring Opposition Governors Into Tinubu Campaign Council

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of pressuring opposition governors into President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign structure, describing the alleged move as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

The ADC Presidential Campaign Council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation in a statement on Wednesday following the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja.

Ologbondiyan accused the ruling party of using state power to pressure governors who belong to other political parties into its campaign structure without formally defecting from their respective parties.

“What we are witnessing is not politics but political abduction. You cannot claim to be a democrat while using state power to force opposition governors into your party and then drafting them into your campaign council. This is political banditry,” he said.

The ADC spokesman further alleged that the APC was pursuing a political agenda aimed at concentrating power and weakening opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He claimed that national institutions, security agencies and the judiciary were being deployed to undermine opposition forces and limit their ability to challenge the ruling party.

Ologbondiyan urged Nigerians to resist what he described as an attempt to prioritise political survival over the welfare of citizens.

He accused the APC-led administration of focusing on its re-election plans while Nigerians continued to grapple with economic hardship, hunger and insecurity.

“These particular sets of leaders don’t care about the current conditions of the people but how best to remain in power at a time when average Nigerians find it difficult to eat and be secure,” he said.

The ADC spokesman also expressed concern over what he described as increasing political intolerance, alleged harassment of opposition figures and the weakening of democratic institutions for partisan purposes.

He argued that the situation contradicted the democratic ideals championed by the late Moshood Abiola and other pro-democracy activists.

The criticism followed the APC’s announcement of an expanded presidential campaign council that included prominent political figures who belong to parties other than the ruling APC.

Those named include Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party; and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Wike was assigned to coordinate Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, while Adeleke and Soludo were named coordinators for Osun and Anambra states, respectively.

The appointments have attracted political attention because the three figures have not been identified as having formally defected to the APC.

However, the ADC’s allegation that the opposition governors were being pressured into the campaign structure was not accompanied by independently established evidence of coercion in the statement.

Ologbondiyan also promoted the ADC’s presidential ticket featuring former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, describing them as leaders capable of addressing Nigeria’s challenges and strengthening democratic governance.

He called on Nigerians, media organisations, civil society groups and the international community to oppose what the party described as an anti-democratic agenda and support efforts to preserve multiparty democracy.

The APC had not provided a response to the specific allegation of coercion in the statement cited in the report.