The African Democratic Congress (ADC), the opposition alliance, made a spectacular debut in politics in July and positioned itself as a force capable of changing Nigeria’s political landscape.
The coalition, which includes notable individuals like former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former senate president David Mark, former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, former Rivers governor Rotimi Amaechi, and 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, promised to oppose the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and thwart any attempts to make the nation a one-party state.
The division of the opposition vote in the 2023 elections, which ultimately resulted in President Bola Tinubu’s victory, was largely perceived as the reason behind its foundation.
However, the coalition’s electoral results have been disappointing months after it made its debut.
The ADC-led coalition was put to the test for the first time in August 2025 when INEC held a number of by-elections in both federal and state constituencies. The coalition did not win a single seat. Additionally, it has yet to win any seats in the local government elections.
The Anambra governorship election on Saturday, November 8, presented a second chance. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won handily with 422,664 votes, followed by the APC with 99,445, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) with 37,753, and the Labour Party (LP) with 10,576. The ADC finished fifth with just 8,208 votes.
A few days prior to the election, Atiku urged Anambra people to take advantage of the “unique opportunity to end the era of poor governance” by endorsing ADC candidate John Nwosu.
“But, rather than being like any other, the election to elect the next governor of Anambra State on November 8 offers a unique opportunity to end the era of poor governance in the state, in addition to ensuring that the ruling APC does not get the chance of practising its notoriety of snatching and running away with the mandate of the people,” Atiku wrote.
However, former vice-president’s call to Anambra voters failed to translate into significant votes for the coalition.
BACKGROUND OF THE ADC COALITION
With just two seats in the House of Representatives, the party had very little presence in elective offices prior to the coalition adopting the ADC as its platform.
Opposition leaders declared the ADC to be their overarching platform on July 2. In order to create room for a transitional team led by Mark, Ralph Nwosu’s executives resigned.
Obi reiterated his support for the ADC on July 3, justifying the move as an essential step in addressing Nigeria’s problems and giving the nation a new course.
“Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 general elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets a competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first,” he said.
Frequently criticising the Tinubu-led APC as “incompetent, dictatorial, and responsible for widespread poverty, insecurity, and hardship,” Atiku has continuously pushed the ADC as a legitimate platform for a broad opposition alliance with the goal of “rescuing Nigeria.”
Since the middle of 2025, the former vice president has urged Nigerians, especially young people and grassroots organisers, to get involved with the party, attend ADC events, greet new members and appointees, and portray the coalition as a cohesive front dedicated to bolstering democratic governance and challenging powerful political interests.
Despite the initial excitement, the coalition has had trouble winning recent elections. The coalition’s poor results in the most recent by-election and Anambra governorship race indicate that state-level voter behaviour is not influenced solely by national endorsements.
However, ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi does not think the party is having trouble winning elections.
He told newsmen on Monday that the dynamics of local elections are different from those of general and presidential elections, pointing out that APGA won Anambra state even at the height of the PDP’s power.
He added that recent results should not be interpreted as indicative of outcomes in 2027 and that even the incumbent APC was unable to seize power in the state.
Abdullahi stated that the candidates in the by-elections were chosen prior to the coalition’s establishment, as the alliance had just recently been created.
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