ADC: 2027 Elections Won’t Hold Without Us on Ballot — Nwosu

The founding National Chairman of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ralph Nwosu, has declared that the 2027 general elections will not hold if the party is excluded from the ballot.

Nwosu made the assertion on Wednesday during a party event in Abuja, where he also expressed confidence that the ADC has garnered sufficient support to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the next election cycle.

According to him, the party has recorded significant gains through its coalition efforts, revealing that as of Tuesday evening, some serving senators in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other parties were in talks with the ADC leadership to defect.

“With the number we have today in ADC, what we have achieved by the coalition is phenomenal. No matter how anybody thinks they can knock this down, they cannot,” he said.

Nwosu attributed the challenges facing the party to what he described as a culture of impunity in Nigerian politics, stressing that determined efforts would be required to effect meaningful change.

“The culture in place is dirty. It’s very difficult to change, but we will continue working very hard to do so. You don’t need a million people; just a few determined minds,” he stated.

He further claimed that the ADC has recorded millions of prospective members, noting that over five million people had already indicated interest in joining the party, with projections reaching at least 11 million before the close of registration.

“The statistics are already there in our portal. We’re recording over five million people ready to become members. By the time registration closes, we expect a minimum of 11 million,” he added.

Nwosu also took a swipe at the current administration, insisting that the political time of President Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio was over.

“All I know is that Tinubu and others cannot conduct any election in this country if ADC is not on the ballot,” he said.

The remarks come amid an internal leadership crisis within the ADC, as a Federal High Court recently barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising a faction of the party led by former Senate President David Mark.

Meanwhile, the ADC National Youth Leader, Balarabe Rufai, called for strict adherence to the party’s constitutional provisions on inclusion, particularly for youths and women.

He emphasised that the party’s 35 per cent affirmative action must be fully implemented, noting that the constitution reserves specific positions for young people, including governorship and senatorial tickets.

“The youth constituency is not begging for space; we are asserting our constitutional rights,” Rufai said.