Leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction over what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structure in the region by the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The South-West remains a crucial political battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election, particularly as the region is widely regarded as a stronghold of President Bola Tinubu.
In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu won Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states, while Atiku, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won Osun State. Peter Obi of the Labour Party emerged victorious in Lagos State.
However, some ADC state chairmen and governorship candidates have alleged that Atiku has been conducting political activities in the South-West through his personal friends and allies while sidelining the party’s established structure.
According to a report by The Punch, the development has created disaffection among party members and contributed to the slow pace of campaign activities in the region.
Some party insiders also claimed there were indications that Atiku might not be willing to invest significantly in political activities across the South-West.
A party official alleged that the ADC presidential candidate had failed to provide adequate financial support for party activities.
“You can imagine a situation where the party chairmen in the six South-West states went to Abuja to attend a meeting with him 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 per cent in the region,” the official said.
The report further stated that ADC governorship candidates and other party leaders held a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, on September 4, where they reportedly raised concerns with the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola.
The leaders allegedly complained that Atiku was not carrying the party structure along in his political activities within the region.
During the meeting, the candidates reportedly sought clarification from the party’s national leadership on whether Atiku intended to work through the ADC’s established structures or continue relying on his personal associates and political allies.
A governorship candidate who attended the meeting, but spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, said nearly all the party leaders present expressed concerns over the alleged sidelining of the South-West structure.
“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 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,” the candidate said.
Another ADC leader who attended the meeting said the concerns prompted Atiku to hold a virtual meeting with South-West party leaders on September 5.
According to the source, Atiku reaffirmed his commitment to the party and promised to address the concerns raised by the leaders. He was also said to have asked each state chapter to submit five names of party members for possible appointment into his campaign committee.
“He 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,” the party leader said.
Similarly, an ADC House of Assembly candidate in Ekiti State expressed concern over what he described as the lack of campaign visibility for the party’s presidential candidate in the South-West.
He attributed the situation to the alleged failure to adequately involve the party’s structure in campaign activities.
“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.
The allegations highlight growing concerns among some ADC leaders in the South-West over the party’s level of involvement in Atiku’s political activities as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
