Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, many leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the South-West have voiced their displeasure over what they call the marginalization of the party’s structure in the region by the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The ADC leaders, among them some state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku has been carrying out his political activities in the region through his friends and allies, leaving the party structure sidelined as presidential campaign activities were set to gain momentum.
It was gathered that this development was stirring discontent among party members and was contributing to the slow pace of campaign activities for Atiku in the region.
The Southwest, seen as a stronghold of President Bola Tinubu, remains a key battleground for Atiku as he works to consolidate his political structure.
In the 2023 election, Tinubu won Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ondo states, while Atiku, who was then the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, won Osun. Peter Obi of the Labour Party won Lagos.
Our correspondent learned that the governorship candidates and some other ADC leaders held a meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on September 4, where they formally complained to the party’s National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, that Atiku was not carrying them along in his political activities in the region.
At the meeting, the candidates reportedly asked the ADC national secretariat to clarify whether Atiku was interested in involving the party structure in his political activities or preferred to deal with his friends and allies.
One of the governorship candidates who attended the meeting told newsmen on Thursday that nearly all the ADC leaders in the South-West complained about Atiku’s alleged sidelining of the party structure.
The candidate, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said little had changed since they raised their concerns.
He said, “The meeting was hot. We told the national secretariat, through Aregbesola, that Atiku must respect the party structure and channel his campaign through it.
“Many of us at the meeting complained about the sidelining of the party in the South-West by our presidential candidate. We rejected his [Atiku’s] practice of using his friends and loyalists to run political activities that the party should ordinarily have been engaged in.
“We insisted that the party structures that produced all the governorship, national and state assembly candidates for the 2027 elections are the genuine party structures with which Atiku must engage.”
An ADC leader who was present at the meeting as well revealed that Atiku felt obliged to convene a virtual meeting the next day, September 5, with ADC leaders from the South-West, during which he reportedly reaffirmed his loyalty to the party and pledged to resolve the issues that had been raised.
According to the ADC leader, Atiku directed each state to forward five names of party members for appointment to his campaign committee.
“He (Atiku) promised that there would be a change and that the party would henceforth be carried along in his political activities. But little has really changed since then,” he said.
Some ADC insiders in the South-West also informed newsmen that there were signs Atiku might be unwilling to spend more on political activities in the region.
A party official told one of our correspondents that the ADC presidential candidate had declined to fund the party.
“You can imagine a situation where the party chairmen in the six South-West states went to Abuja to attend a meeting with him (Atiku) on September 17, and our presidential candidate refused to give them transport fare. The chairmen are not happy with him for that. Maybe he is just targeting his 25 percent in the region,” he said.
In the same vein, an ADC House of Assembly candidate in Ekiti, who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity, said Atiku’s campaign was lacking in visibility since the party had not been engaged.
He explained that Atiku had not given enough attention to the party in the region, a situation he described as discouraging.
“You can see nothing is happening in the South-West ADC. Everywhere is dull, and that is because the party has not been engaged by our presidential candidate. Only his friends have been involved in his campaign activities,” he said.
Commenting on claims that the party has been sidelined in the zone, Adewole Ijaogbomo, Chairman of the ADC Local Government Chairmen in Lagos State, said certain individuals were driving Atiku’s campaign activities in the state.
He urged Atiku to treat the situation as a matter of priority and address it.
“Most of the people championing Atiku’s cause in the South-West, especially in Lagos State, are just positioning themselves to grab the campaign fund for their selfish interests. The main party leaders are not being carried along in all their activities.
“A few people are trying to take over the campaign activities. The majority of the party leaders are not involved in Lagos State. The real ADC leaders are being excluded from Atiku’s political activities. I see that Atiku doesn’t want to offend anybody, but he must address this matter urgently,” he said.
