morganabLE Politics/elections
Another ADC leader who attended the meeting disclosed that Atiku subsequently held a virtual meeting with South-West party leaders on September 5, during which he reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to the party and promised to address their complaints.
KaNo —
Several leaders of the African Democratic Congress in the South-West, including state chairmen and governorship candidates, have protested against the alleged marginalisation of the party’s structures by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of conducting political activities through personal friends and loyalists while sidelining recognised party leaders ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The aggrieved leaders warned that the development was generating disaffection among members and undermining efforts to mobilise support for Atiku in a region considered crucial to his presidential ambition.
According to Pinch,the disagreement had contributed to the slow pace of political activities in the zone, with some party officials expressing frustration over what they described as the presidential candidate’s failure to engage the established party structures.
The South-West, regarded as the political stronghold of President Bola Tinubu, remains an important battleground for Atiku as he seeks to consolidate his political support ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In the 2023 election, Tinubu won Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states, while Atiku, then the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, secured Osun State. Peter Obi of the Labour Party won Lagos State.
Findings by Punch indicated that the disagreement came to a head at a meeting convened by ADC governorship candidates and other party leaders in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on September 4.
At the meeting, the leaders reportedly complained to the party’s National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, that Atiku was not carrying them along in his political activities across the region.
They were said to have demanded clarification from the national secretariat on whether the presidential candidate intended to work with the existing party structures or preferred to conduct his political engagements through personal associates.
A governorship candidate who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Punch that almost all the ADC leaders present expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged exclusion.
He said the meeting was heated, with participants insisting that Atiku must respect the party structure and ensure that his political activities were coordinated through recognised party officials.
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 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.”
Another ADC leader who attended the meeting disclosed that Atiku subsequently held a virtual meeting with South-West party leaders on September 5, during which he reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to the party and promised to address their complaints.
According to the source, the former Vice-President asked each state in the region to submit five names of party members for appointment to his campaign committee.
The source, however, said the promised changes had yet to translate into meaningful improvements in the relationship between the presidential candidate and the party structures.
“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,” he said.
Beyond the alleged exclusion, some ADC insiders in the South-West also expressed concerns about Atiku’s commitment to funding political activities in the region.
A party official alleged that the presidential candidate had failed to provide adequate financial support for the party, citing an incident involving the six South-West state chairmen who reportedly travelled to Abuja for a meeting with Atiku on September 17.
The official claimed that the chairmen were disappointed because the presidential candidate allegedly refused to provide transport allowances for their journey.
“You can imagine a situation where the party chairmen in the six South-West states went to Abuja to attend a meeting with him 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.
Similarly, an ADC House of Assembly candidate in Ekiti State, who spoke anonymously, blamed the lack of visibility of Atiku’s political activities in the region on the alleged failure to engage party members.
He described the situation as discouraging, saying the absence of coordinated activities had weakened the party’s mobilisation efforts.
“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.
In Lagos State, the Chairman of ADC Local Government Chairmen, Adewole Ijaogbomo, also accused some individuals of taking control of Atiku’s political activities while excluding established party leaders.
He alleged that some of those championing the presidential candidate’s cause were more interested in positioning themselves for personal benefits, particularly access to campaign funds.
Ijaogbomo urged Atiku to intervene urgently to prevent further disaffection within the party.
“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.
However, the South-West Chairman of the ADC, Akin Omole, dismissed suggestions that Atiku had deliberately sidelined party members, arguing that the disagreement should be understood within the context of the coalition arrangement that brought different political interests together under the ADC.
Omole said the party comprised individuals who had previously belonged to different political parties and maintained longstanding relationships with political associates before joining the coalition.
He argued that Atiku’s engagement with his friends and political allies should not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the party structure.
“On the issue of whether he’s carrying them along, you know this is a coalition. We came from different political parties. We cannot deny the fact that there have been some old alliances, people who have been together in some political parties before now.
“We should not suffer the illusion of not agreeing with the reality of being a friend to a candidate. It happens everywhere. But I want to tell you, we are a family. I’m satisfied with my involvement in the party. Nobody takes away what is legitimately mine,” he said.
Omole’s position, however, contrasts with the concerns raised by other party leaders who insist that established ADC structures must play a central role in Atiku’s political activities.
The disagreement highlights the internal challenges facing the ADC as it prepares for the 2027 elections, particularly its efforts to build a united political front capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress in the South-West.
With the region remaining strategically important to the presidential contest, resolving the grievances could prove critical to the party’s mobilisation efforts and its chances of expanding its electoral support beyond its existing political base.
