ADC Crisis: They Hijack, Abandon Parties After Electoral Defeats – Ngogbehei Tackles Atiku, Obi

A public affairs analyst, Marcel Ngogbehei, has accused opposition politicians of turning political parties into personal platforms for pursuing presidential ambitions, alleging that they take over existing party structures, marginalise founding members and abandon the parties when their electoral plans fail.

Ngogbehei made the allegation in a statement on Saturday while reacting to a recent Abuja High Court judgment which nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress under former Senate President David Mark.

The ADC has since appealed the judgment.

The analyst argued that Nigeria needed to move away from a political culture in which influential politicians take control of established parties, leaving their founding members struggling to retain ownership of the organisations they helped build.

He cited the political journeys of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi as examples of what he described as instability and opportunism in opposition politics.

Ngogbehei said the ADC crisis was particularly instructive because opposition figures had adopted the party as a platform to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, only for it to become embroiled in leadership disputes and legal battles over the legitimacy of its leadership.

He also argued that President Bola Tinubu’s political history demonstrated a commitment to building lasting political structures.

The analyst recalled Tinubu’s involvement in the development of the Alliance for Democracy, Action Congress, Action Congress of Nigeria and the formation of the All Progressives Congress.