Several leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structures in the region by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 general election.
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The aggrieved members, including some state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku had been conducting political activities in the region through his friends and associates while excluding established party structures.
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The development has reportedly generated discontent among members and contributed to the slow pace of campaign activities for Atiku across the zone.
The South-West remains an important political battleground for Atiku, particularly as President Bola Tinubu enjoys considerable support in the region. In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu won Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states, while Atiku, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won Osun. Peter Obi of the Labour Party secured Lagos.
Findings indicated that some ADC governorship candidates and other party leaders met in Ibadan, Oyo State, on September 4, where they reportedly complained to the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, about Atiku’s alleged failure to involve them in his political activities.
At the meeting, the candidates were said to have sought clarification on whether Atiku intended to work with the party’s established structures or preferred to conduct his political engagements through personal associates.
One of the governorship candidates who attended the meeting said nearly all the ADC leaders present expressed concerns about the alleged exclusion of the party in the region.
The candidate, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, said little had changed since the complaints were raised.
He said the leaders told the national secretariat, through Aregbesola, that Atiku should respect the party structure and conduct his campaign activities through it.
According to him, the candidates rejected the practice of using personal associates to handle political activities that should ordinarily involve the party.
He added that the structures responsible for producing the party’s governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections should be recognised as the legitimate channels through which Atiku engages members.
Another ADC leader who attended the meeting disclosed that Atiku subsequently held a virtual meeting with South-West party leaders on September 5, during which he reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to the party and promised to address their concerns.
The leader said Atiku asked each state to submit five names of party members for appointment to his campaign committee.
However, he claimed that the promised changes had yet to materialise.
Some party insiders also alleged that Atiku was reluctant to commit sufficient resources to political activities in the region.
An ADC official claimed that the presidential candidate had declined to provide financial support to the party, citing a September 17 meeting in Abuja attended by the chairmen of the party in the six South-West states.
The official alleged that Atiku did not provide transport allowances for the delegation, leaving the chairmen dissatisfied. He suggested that the presidential candidate might be focusing on securing only 25 per cent of the votes in the region.
An ADC House of Assembly candidate in Ekiti State also blamed the lack of visibility of Atiku’s campaign in the region on the alleged failure to involve party members.
He described the situation as discouraging, claiming that most political activities were being handled by Atiku’s associates rather than the party’s established leadership.
The Chairman of ADC Local Government Chairmen in Lagos State, Adewole Ijaogbomo, similarly called on Atiku to address the concerns, alleging that a small group of individuals had taken control of campaign activities in the state.
He claimed that some of those promoting Atiku’s candidacy were positioning themselves to benefit from campaign funds, while established party leaders were being excluded.
Ijaogbomo said most ADC leaders in Lagos were not involved in the presidential candidate’s political activities and urged him to resolve the situation before it affected the party’s preparations.
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However, the South-West Chairman of the ADC, Akin Omole, defended Atiku, arguing that the presidential candidate could not be expected to abandon existing relationships with friends and political associates in the name of party politics.
Omole described the ADC as a coalition involving individuals from different political backgrounds and said Atiku’s existing alliances were part of the arrangements necessary to build support for the 2027 election.
He maintained that political candidates were entitled to maintain relationships outside their parties, adding that such alliances could contribute to electoral success.
Omole also confirmed that the Ibadan meeting took place but said its purpose was to discuss strategies for securing victory for the ADC in the South-West.
He explained that the meeting’s outcome led to a subsequent engagement with Atiku in Abuja, adding that any member with concerns should formally channel them through the party.
Although he acknowledged that isolated complaints might exist, he said they were not widespread enough to constitute a major problem for the party.
On the allegation that Atiku failed to provide transport allowances for the state chairmen who attended the Abuja meeting, Omole said party officials should not expect the presidential candidate to bear all the financial responsibilities of the organisation.
He argued that the ADC had moved beyond the era when political parties depended entirely on wealthy candidates to fund their activities, insisting that state structures had their own sources of financing.
The Lagos State ADC Chairman, George Ashiru, also dismissed suggestions that party members were being deliberately sidelined.
Ashiru said Atiku had yet to formally inaugurate his campaign or announce state coordinators and campaign councils, arguing that the absence of those structures did not amount to excluding party executives.
He explained that campaign councils were separate strategic organisations whose membership did not necessarily have to consist of party executives. According to him, the party’s responsibility would be to support the campaign structure once it was established.
Ashiru also criticised members who, he claimed, were speculating about the arrangements instead of seeking clarification directly from Atiku.
Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the ADC has dismissed claims of a strained relationship between Atiku and Aregbesola.
Speculation about a possible disagreement between the two politicians intensified after the ADC Presidential Campaign Council was unveiled on September 25 without Aregbesola’s name.
However, the party’s Osun State Publicity Secretary, Oluwaseun Abosede, said there was no disagreement between them and denied the existence of any leadership crisis within the party.
Abosede also dismissed concerns about the pace of political activities in the South-West, saying the party had developed a roadmap for its campaign in the region.
He explained that efforts were ongoing to engage interest groups, strengthen political relationships, consolidate party structures and expand the ADC’s reach across the zone.
According to him, the party was deliberately working through consultations and organisation rather than rushing to make public announcements about every political activity.
He urged observers not to interpret the absence of frequent public displays as evidence that the party was inactive, expressing confidence that its preparations would become more visible at the appropriate time.
Atiku’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, also rejected the allegations that the former vice-president had sidelined ADC executives in the South-West.
Shaibu described the claims as false, explaining that state coordinators and campaign councils had not been announced or inaugurated.
He argued that no state-level campaign structure had been constituted from which party executives could have been excluded.
The aide maintained that Atiku respected the party’s leadership, members and established structures, describing suggestions that he was conducting political activities outside the party framework as opposition speculation rather than genuine complaints from ADC members.
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