Says Obi’s defection signals party’s popularity
Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Oyo State, Niyi Aborisade, yesterday, expressed confidence that the party will record a sweeping victory in the state during the 2027 general elections, citing the growing popularity of the party and the recent defection of former Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as major indicators.
Aborisade made the assertion while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, noting that the ADC has continued to gain strength across Oyo State due to what he described as widespread dissatisfaction with the current political leadership and the declining influence of other major parties.
According to the British-trained human rights lawyer, Obi’s decision to join the ADC is a clear sign that the party is emerging as the most credible and progressive political platform in the country.
“Peter Obi’s defection to the ADC is not accidental. It clearly shows that the party is becoming increasingly popular and attractive to genuine progressives across Nigeria,” Aborisade, a governorship aspirant in Oyo State in 2027, said.
He attributed the growing acceptance of the ADC to the prevailing economic hardship in the country, which, he said, has pushed many Nigerians to seek alternative leadership capable of addressing their needs.
Aborisade also described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a party in decline, blaming its prolonged internal crisis for the mass movement of its members into the ADC, particularly in Oyo State.
The human rights activist recently left the PDP for the ADC. “The crisis within the PDP has weakened its structure. Many of its members in Oyo State have realised that the party no longer offers a credible platform, and they are now joining the ADC,” he stated.
On the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections, Aborisade said the ADC is building strong grassroots structures across all local council areas in the state, adding that the party is positioning itself to take over political leadership in Oyo.
MEANWHILE, the leadership of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Ogun State has disagreed over the choice of ex-Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential spokesperson in the 2019 general election, Segun Sowunmi, as its preferred candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial election.
Recalled that party leaders led by its Chairperson, Yeye Olufunke Olanrewaju, paid a visit to Sowunmi’s Ibara residence to offer him a gubernatorial slot for the 2027 elections, barely two weeks after the Labour Party (LP) in the state made the same move.
However, the visit did not bode well with some members of the executive and party leaders, who disassociated themselves from the visit, insisting that the party would not support Sowunmi as its governorship candidate for 2027.
In a statement jointly signed by party leader Olanrewaju Shokunbi and Secretary Tajideen Durosinmi, the party reiterated its support for its 2023 governorship candidate, Shokunbi Kazeem, stating that ADP is not a platform for merger or exchange of political favours.
