Politics
Ebonyi SDP Chair Predicts APC Fall In 2027
The Social Democratic Party says it’s strengthening its grassroots base, just as it’s capitalising on growing dissatisfaction among Nigerians in the face of a biting economy. In this interview with EDWARD NNACHI, the Ebonyi State Chairman of SDP, Dr Kingsley Agbor, speaks on Nigeria’s 26 years of democracy, and his party’s preparedness for the 2027 elections
How has your party fared recently in Ebonyi State?
As former President Goodluck Jonathan once said, when you’re putting up poles and wiring, no one notices. It’s only when the lights come on that people begin to pay attention. That’s exactly what we’re doing in SDP. We’re laying structures, connecting grassroots networks, and consolidating our position. We are active in all 13 Local Government Areas and have executive members in virtually every electoral ward in Ebonyi State. But because we’re in opposition, we are moving quietly and strategically. We want to take people by surprise. Soon, they’ll start asking, ‘Where has SDP been all this while?’
There’s this general belief the SDP is ‘lifeless’ in Ebonyi State. What’s your take?
There is one saying that people who pound their mortar loudly every night at times have the impression that the other people who you don’t hear them pound go hungry. Now, what do I mean? The ruling party, because they are in control of the resources and all that, they are free to make all the noise and all that. They believe erroneously that there is no other person existing. But because we are in opposition, we need to get our act right, and our tactics right, and the only tactic we are using is to go underground. And yes, other persons who are out there will believe that life has been snuffed out from SDP. But I can tell you that we are very much alive, and we will take them by surprise. So, it is not true that life has been snuffed out from SDP in Ebonyi State.
On June 12, Nigeria marked 26 years of uninterrupted democracy. Do you think Nigerians have truly enjoyed democratic governance?
Let’s not forget: the spirit of June 12 came from SDP, the platform on which the late MKO Abiola won the 1993 election. That said, when you evaluate Nigeria’s democracy by its core definition — government of the people, by the people, and for the people — you’ll see we’ve fallen short. Government of the people? It implies the people elect their leaders. But with the current electoral system, from INEC to the judiciary, the will of the people is often subverted. So, no, we haven’t achieved that. And government for the people? Let’s look around. How many homes have pipe-borne water? How many communities enjoy stable electricity, accessible healthcare, or quality public schools? Democracy is meant to benefit the people. But what we see is economic hardship — a crate of eggs now costs ₦7,000. Is that progress? I can say that we have just been surviving but whether the core mandate of democracy has been delivered, the answer is no!
So, are you saying we are living in deception?
Yes, we are purely living in deception. I took my time to explain it — government for the people, of the people, and by the people. When you put it line by line, you will see that we haven’t met any of the aspects of democracy.
What’s the way forward?
The way forward is what the SDP is trying to do or what the SDP has been doing. And what have we been doing? We are continuously advocating, mobilising, and sensitising the people to bring about the change. Regrettably, we never had the opportunity in 1993 because many people had in mind that, peradventure they allowed MKO Abiola to govern Nigeria, by today we will not be where we are. Where N2,000 cannot buy a loaf of bread. Where we cannot fly from Enugu to Lagos without spending less than N125,000. These are very disheartening. A journey of not more than 45 minutes, you are spending more than N30,000 just from Enugu to Lagos. The way forward is what we are doing now, continue holding these people by their words, and continue advocating and mobilising people. You see, my heart bleeds anytime I see this type of defection going on. Where are you defecting to? Defecting to a government that has made lives more terrible for its people? A government where its today is better than tomorrow? So, the way forward is that we keep on advocating, we keep on mobilising, and we hope that come 2027, we are going to get it right because SDP is poised and is fully ready and prepared to take us to where we should have been taken in 1993.
Governor Francis Nwifuru marked two years in office on May 29. What’s your rating of his administration?
Coming to score the government — unfortunately, I won’t score him high. Just like the government of David Umahi, which I described as cosmetic governance because in governance, we have hard-core governance and cosmetic governance. What is cosmetic governance? Just like when you see a lady with make-up and the rest of it, it does not solve anything. I have asked someone to tell me how much all the flyovers David Umahi built in Ebonyi State generates into the coffers of Ebonyi State. How many people have those flyovers employed and taken away from the job market? The answer is none. Until the government addresses this, it is purely cosmetic. Unfortunately, Nwifuru has equally followed the step of cosmetic governance instead of hard-core governance. What do I mean by hard-core governance? Let me give an example. Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai entered into a partnership with a Dutch firm to establish Olam Farms, a mega hatchery and agro-processing enterprise. That initiative provides direct and indirect employment to over 10,000 people and contributes massively to the state’s economy. In contrast, how many Ebonyi people got jobs through the flyovers? What revenue have they generated? Until we embrace hardcore governance that drives the economy and uplifts lives, I cannot give the Nwifuru administration a pass mark. So, I won’t score Nwifuru high until he goes into hard-core governance.
You appear to be a lone ranger in this game. Is there any chance of you defecting to the ruling party ahead of 2027, just like others have done?
Why should I defect to a government I just described as cosmetic? I’ve chosen the path of service through hard-core governance. I’ll stay on the side that advocates for true change. I just told you—what they are giving us is cosmetic governance and I won’t want to be part of cosmetic governance, so that when I’m gone, one million years after, they will say it is the government of so-so people that did this. You still hear of Sam Mbakwe, and Jim Nwobodo — you still hear of those people. Sam Mbakwe wasn’t that rich, but if you go to Owerri you will see his legacy there.
How prepared is your party to take over the reins of governance in Ebonyi State?
The 2027 election is not going to be between PDP or any party and APC, it is going to be Nigeria and APC, and they are looking for a very organised platform. That platform we have is SDP. We are fully ready. Like I told you, we are going underground. If I tell you the number of supporters we have, you will be amazed. Whatever thing we are doing now, we are fully ready. You will be surprised at the kind of people that will emerge — that will pick up SDP tickets. They might not be the popular people you know every day. No! We are getting hardcore people who have travelled far and wide.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, said those championing the coalition against President Tinubu are not credible and can’t unseat him. What’s your take?
Now, you see that he has the arrogance and free will to say anything he wants to say. But I want to tell you what El-Rufai told us. He said in 2013, when they were regrouping into APC to unseat PDP, all they heard was, “You can’t remove an incumbent government, he has control of the police, INEC is in his pocket, he has all the money.” But he said, “Will you allow yourself to get distracted?” They said all the answers they gave to them, they appreciated and said ‘thank you’ and went underground. They were told they were wasting their time. He said six months into that election, they were very sure they had won because all they needed to do, they had done. They went door-to-door and saw that Nigerians had already changed their minds. I’m not surprised about what he (Umahi) said; he is the current Minister of Works and can say all he needs to say. But I want to assure you that just as it happened in 2015, nobody believed it was going to happen because they were working underground. I want to assure you that it will happen. When it happens now, unfortunately, and disappointingly, people like David Umahi will be among the first to defect back to SDP, so, that he will take power. It is very unfortunate.
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A former House of Representatives aspirant under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Danjuma, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Danjuma, popularly known as Garkuwa Babba, was the ADC aspirant for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency and also served as National Chairman of the ADC House of Representatives Aspirants Forum.
He announced his defection after meeting with Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, Naija News understands.
During the meeting, Danjuma declared his support for the APC and pledged to mobilize his political network and grassroots supporters for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said he would support Governor Yahaya’s senatorial ambition, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna, and other candidates of the party.
Danjuma said his decision to leave the ADC was largely influenced by Yahaya’s leadership, performance and development record in Gombe State.
He praised the governor for what he described as tangible development across the state, saying his achievements had boosted confidence in the APC and reduced the appeal of opposition parties among voters.
According to him, joining the APC was a deliberate move to support continuity, stability and further development in Gombe State.
Receiving Danjuma, Governor Yahaya welcomed his decision to join the APC, describing the development as a major boost for the party.
The governor assured the new APC member and his supporters of an inclusive and united party, stressing the importance of unity, loyalty and collective effort.
Yahaya said the APC remained open to individuals and groups who shared the vision of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Gombe State.
He added that Danjuma’s political experience, network and grassroots reach would be valuable to the party.
The governor also urged APC members and stakeholders to remain united, saying the strength of the party depended on its ability to accommodate different interests while working towards the development of Gombe State.
“These men and women will carry the ADC banner and our commitment to offer Nigerians credible leadership and a real alternative,” the party said.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has released the names of its governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the 2027 elections in 28 states
The list, signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, includes several prominent politicians and former public officials seeking to contest the poll.
“These men and women will carry the ADC banner and our commitment to offer Nigerians credible leadership and a real alternative,” Mr Abdullahi wrote in a post on X on Friday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the governorship elections for 6 February, 2027. It will hold alongside the state House of Assembly elections.
The remaining eight states hold their governorship elections outside of the regular election season as a result of previous court decisions. The eight states are Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun.
The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on 16 January, 2027.
ADC governorship candidates
The candidates and their running mates are Kalu Agu and Alozie Darlington (Abia); Modibbo Ribadu and Aguwa Iliya (Adamawa); and Akpanudedehe James and Nsien Tommy (Akwa Ibom); Halliru Jika and Sama’ila Mohammed Kabir (Bauchi); Herman Iorwase Hembe and Abba John Abba (Benue); Babagana Buhari and Mamman Dauda (Borno); Nkoyo Toyo and OkwoChe Andrew Adagbor (Cross River; and Great Ogboru and Afiari Gloria (Delta).
Others are Ukpai Mba Udeh and Onwe Daniel Ede (Ebonyi); Ocho Obodeze Chukwuma and Eze Arinze Christopher (Enugu); Bala Bello and Bala Sani Isa (Gombe); Sabo Mohammed Nakudu and Musa Ya’u Balarabe (Bauchi); and Isa Mohammed Ashiru and Kantiok Irmiya Ishaku (Kaduna).
There are also Ibrahim Ali Amin and Shehu Abdulkadir Bari (Kano); Ahmad Baba Kaita and Aminu Yar’Adua Ahmed (Katsina), Abubakar Malami and Zagi Musa Mohammed (Kebbi); Zakari Mohammed and Olawuyi Julius Olayide (Kwara); Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Gbadamosi Babatunde Olalere (Lagos).
The list also includes Nuhu Angbazo and Ahmed Yusuf (Nasarawa); Mohammed Kpautagi and Musa Mamman (Niger); Biodun Collins Ogundipe and Muraina Oluwaranti Oluyemi (Ogun); Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke and Wahab Adeniyi (Oyo); and John Sunday Sura and Pwajok-Kele Chundung Bitrus (Plateau).
The remaining candidates are Gabriel Pidomson and Okumgba David Amapakaye (Rivers); Manir Mohammad Daniya and Isah Bello Ambarura (Sokoto); Abubakar Umar Tutare and Kwetishe Haruna Kwenyan (Taraba); Kassim G. Gaidam and Kori Lawan Mohammed (Yobe); and Shinkafi Bilyaminu Yusuf and Muhammad Abdulmuddalib Auwal (Zamfara).
ADC performance in off-cycle elections
Since the ADC was adopted as the platform for the opposition coalition in 2025, it has struggled to make a significant impact in the three off-cycle elections held in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun off-cycle governorship elections.
In the 2025 Anambra governorship election, APGA’s Chukwuma Soludo was re-elected with 422,664 votes, defeating APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes. John Nwosu, the ADC candidate, finished fifth with 8,208 votes, representing about 1.4 per cent of the 584,054 valid votes cast.
In the 2026 Ekiti governorship election, the ADC candidate, Dare Bejide, finished third with 12,872 votes, accounting for about 3.4 per cent of the 375,777 valid votes cast.
In last month’s Osun governorship election, the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 1.7 per cent (17,180) of the 985,079 valid votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the exit of global ride-hailing brand Uber from Nigeria, alongside the shutdown or scaling down of operations by several major international companies, as further evidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies are turning Nigeria into a “graveyard of businesses.”
Naija News reports that global ride-hailing company, Uber, had announced the shutdown of its operations in Nigeria, bringing an end to a 12-year presence in the country.
The company said its services would cease in Nigeria from September 2, 2026, following a review of its business operations
Uber disclosed the decision in a statement issued on Wednesday, describing its departure from the Nigerian market as a difficult one.
Reacting in a statement on Thursday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the growing list of businesses shutting down, scaling back or leaving the country exposes the widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the reality confronting businesses and ordinary Nigerians.
The party said it was particularly astonishing that President Tinubu and his government were celebrating a marginal 0.2 percentage-point improvement in GDP at a time when businesses are closing, jobs are disappearing and millions of Nigerians are sinking deeper into poverty.
“Certainly, a 0.2% growth does not justify the extreme hardship that Nigerians are suffering,” the party said.
He argued that while the Tinubu government celebrates a marginal improvement of 0.2 percentage points, Nigeria’s poverty rate has snowballed to 63%, affecting an estimated 140 million Nigerians.
The ADC also asked President Tinubu to explain 0.2% GDP growth to the 140 million Nigerians who have sunk into poverty since he came to power; the workers who have watched the value of their salaries disappear; businesses that have struggled with energy costs; and millions who have been forced to reduce the quantity and quality of food on their tables.
“When the President and his party say things are getting better, we expect them to tell us what has improved in the lives of Nigerians. They should tell us how much food their “GDP growth” has put on the tables. They should tell us which bill it has paid. If 0.2% is a mark of success in their books, President Tinubu and APC should tell us what they consider as failure,” the ADC said.
The party said that Uber’s exit after twelve years in Nigeria reflects the increasingly hostile operating environment confronting businesses, particularly the soaring cost of energy and transportation, with the price of fuel rising by as much as 1,700% following the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira.
“This is precisely why the ADC Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has proposed the restoration of a targeted fuel subsidy to bring down the cost of fuel, transportation and production,” the party said.
It also cited the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s earlier report that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 iconic global brands, have shut down or ceased operations in Nigeria, while hundreds more are distressed since President Tinubu assumed office in 2024. It listed among the companies that have shut down or scaled down operations in the country to include Microsoft, Jumia and Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PZ Cussons, among others.
“Therefore, when the President announces that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wonder which corner he is talking about. If indeed the economy is improving, or the slightest hope exists in the minds of those who run these businesses that this APC government can improve the economy, why are they closing shop and moving elsewhere?” ADC asked, citing the example of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which it said shut down manufacturing in Nigeria after 50 years.
“The painful truth is that Tinubu has turned Nigeria into a graveyard of businesses. Every business that shuts down or pulls out is a vote of no confidence in the Tinubu administration and its capacity to manage the economy. Each exit delivers a blow to the economy. But perhaps, more importantly, each one represents a massive loss of jobs and increased poverty.
“Therefore, when the APC and its government celebrate even the most negligible shift in GDP numbers and flaunt that as evidence to show that things are getting better, they are immediately contradicted by the painful reality that Nigerians are getting poorer and hungrier. Those who had jobs yesterday are not sure how long it will take before their employers close shop, and those earning salaries are struggling even to transport themselves to work,” the party concludes.
ADC reiterated that its presidential candidate’s plan to subsidise the production costs of fuel to make it more affordable will bring down the cost of living, make businesses more profitable, and create jobs across sectors.
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