African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to impose a one-party dictatorship on Nigeria through the expansion of President Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 general election.
Gatekeepers News reports that ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, who claimed that the APC was undermining the country’s multiparty democracy by allegedly pressuring opposition politicians to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Ologbondiyan accused the ruling party of incorporating opposition governors into its campaign structure despite their alleged refusal to defect from their respective political parties.
“What we are witnessing is not politics but political abduction,” he said.
“You cannot claim to be a democrat while using state power to force opposition governors into your party and then drafting them into your campaign council. This is political banditry.”
The ADC spokesperson further alleged that the APC was deploying national institutions, security agencies and the judiciary to weaken opposition parties and consolidate political power.
He also criticised the administration over the economic hardship, hunger and insecurity facing Nigerians, accusing political leaders of prioritising their hold on power over the welfare of citizens.
“These particular sets of leaders don’t care about the current conditions of the people but how best to remain in power at a time when average Nigerians find it difficult to eat and be secure,” he said.
Ologbondiyan described the situation as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic development, alleging that the government had intensified pressure on opposition figures and restricted dissenting voices for partisan interests.
“Never in our democratic journey have we witnessed this level of intolerance and desperation. The APC government has weaponised poverty, hunger and insecurity to subjugate Nigerians and cripple the opposition,” he said.
He urged Nigerians, media organisations, civil society groups and the international community to resist what the ADC described as an attempt to undermine multiparty democracy.
The party’s spokesperson also expressed confidence in its presidential candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, describing them as leaders capable of restoring democratic governance and promoting national unity.
The allegations followed the APC’s expansion of its presidential campaign council for the 2027 general election, with the inclusion of politicians from outside the ruling party.
Among those named were Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Ademola Adeleke, Osun State governor; and Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor.
Wike was appointed campaign coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT, while Adeleke and Soludo were named coordinators for Osun and Anambra states, respectively.
The expanded council has generated criticism from the opposition, with Atiku separately questioning the size of the campaign structure and accusing Tinubu of prioritising political alliances over the economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
However, the ADC’s allegations that opposition politicians were being coerced into the APC’s campaign structure have not been independently established.
