Politics
Ex-Kwara Governor Ditches PDP, Joins ADC Coalition
Former Kwara governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and ex-lawmaker Abubakar Amuda Kannike have officially joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and are now key leaders in the party ADC chieftain
Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq confirmed the high-profile defections, describing the party as a credible alternative to both APC and PDP in Kwara State
Several other prominent politicians, including former Minister Bolaji Abdullahi, are also strengthening ADC grassroots structures ahead of future political contests
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kwara state has confirmed that former governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and ex-federal lawmaker, Honourable Abubakar Amuda Kannike, have officially joined the party and are now playing significant leadership roles.
This was disclosed by a party chieftain, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, during a Yoruba-language interview monitored by Legit.ng.
Abdulfatah Ahmed served as governor of Kwara state from 2011 to 2019, while Abubakar Amuda Kannike represented the Ilorin East/Ilorin South constituency in the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2019.
According to the ADC chieftain, the former governor and other top political figures in the state have now repositioned themselves within the ADC, which he described as a “credible alternative” to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He explained: “Many of the politicians who resigned from the PDP in Kwara have already joined us. They are now our members. Some people think that because certain politicians have not made public declarations, they are hiding. That is not true. Former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed is with us. He is in Ilorin now, actively engaged in ADC activities.”
The ADC leader added that several other prominent politicians, including former Minister Bolaji Abdullahi, are also involved with the party, even if their schedules sometimes take them outside the state.
He continued: “Recently, Hon. Amuda Kannike, the former House of Representatives member, was around for his daughter’s wedding, and he is fully with us. Danladi from Offa is also back home. Zakari Mohammed is around too. Oba Aluko is here as well. All these leaders have returned to the grassroots to strengthen ADC. Our focus remains on the grassroots, because that is where real politics begins.”
Abdulrasaq also disclosed that his defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ADC brought with it all the party’s structures in the state. “As a former chieftain of NNPP, I moved with all the 193 ward chairmen and the 16 local government chairmen of NNPP into ADC. They are all now members of ADC,” he said.
He stressed that former Governor Ahmed and Hon. Kannike are not just members but leaders actively giving directives to the ADC in Kwara.
“The former governor is among our leaders and one of those giving us direction in the party. He is fully committed to the progress of Kwara State and Nigeria as a whole. This is the reason he joined ADC,” Abdulrasaq said.
He further emphasised what makes the ADC different from other political parties. “What sets ADC apart from APC and PDP is our guiding principle.
We have vowed before God not to treat the people the way other politicians have treated them. We will not manipulate the people or exploit them. That is our commitment.”
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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