There is no basis for any analyst who knows his or her onions well to compare the APC and the ADC—even at the formative stage of the APC—to begin to suggest that ADC would replicate what we all experienced in the 2015 general elections. ADC seems to be a hastily constructed, rickety special-purpose vehicle which is not grounded in any ideology or direction but formed merely to wrestle and attempt to grab power.
What is the policy agenda for the ADC to replace the economic regime we currently have in the country?
The APC had mechanical growth rooted as far back as 1998 when the transition to the present democratic experience started. APC is an offshoot of the defunct Alliance for Democracy that won all five governorships and almost all the State Assembly seats in South Western Nigeria in 1999. The Alliance for Democracy evolved into the defunct Action Congress and then the Action Congress of Nigeria.
Another branch of the APC sprang from the All Nigeria Peoples Party, which started as the All Peoples Party in 1998. By the 1999 general elections, it had grown very strong and won governorship elections in the North West and North Eastern geographical zones, making forays into all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. The defunct CPC shot out of the ANPP, and by 2011 it had become a political force to be reckoned with—so much so that in the 2011 general elections, held less than one year after its registration in 2009, its presidential candidate amassed more than 13 million votes.
By the time the ACN, ANPP, CPC and factions of APGA merged, they had more than ten governors, as well as State and National Assembly members in over 24 states of the federation.
Contrast that with the dismal stage of the ADC: a fringe and obscure party driven by factionalization, with no state governor and no representation in the State or National Assembly. On 9th July 2025, the list of State Chairmen of ADC was published, and I was anxious to know who was appointed the State Chairman of ADC in my state—Cross River State. The name I saw made me cringe. It was an unknown and indescript politician whom I have never encountered, despite being a close observer of politics in my state since 1999.
Honestly, the ADC is a non-starter, and I do not see it having the kind of infectious traction that the APC had in 2015, which enabled it to score the spectacular and unprecedented victory it achieved.
The ADC’s current political profile, lack of institutional depth, and absence of grassroots structures make it improbable that it will replicate the strategic and historical build-up that defined the APC’s rise. Without a solid ideological framework or clear economic roadmap to challenge the existing order, it remains more aspirational than operational.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
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