Obi and Kwankwaso Leave ADC Amid Shift of 18 Lawmakers to NDC

By: Abudu Olalekan

The move took a hard turn for the African Democratic Congress. Not just tough – brutal, actually.

Out the door stepped Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, once the party’s leading figures. After they left, chaos kicked in. By Tuesday, seventeen lawmakers from the House, along with one senator, had shifted allegiance – to the National Democratic Congress. This wave came fast, less than two days after the big names broke away.

Running away isn’t betrayal. It’s survival. Leaving doesn’t mean you quit. It means staying was worse.

Began to tumble, one after another without slowing down

Truth is, none of this was sudden. Quiet tensions in the ADC had grown through months of leadership clashes, conflicting plans, personal friction piling up. Then came Sunday’s shift: Obi and Kwankwaso stepping into the NDC – and suddenly everything broke loose.

Week by week, signs grow stronger that something deep is shifting. Letters arrived at the chamber floor, signed by officials who once stood firm in Kano, Anambra, Lagos, Edo, Rivers, and now also Kogi. Their exit papers placed on record just days ago. From the speaker’s chair, Benjamin Kalu recited each one aloud while members sat in silence. What pushed them out? Not whispers – open fractures within their ranks. A note passed through channels called it an unhealed split stretching all the way up from local posts to headquarters. This goes beyond disagreement – it resembles slow collapse seen only when trust unravels completely.

Among those who left are Yusuf Datti, Sani Adamu, Zakari Mukhtari, Kamilu Ado, Harris Okonkwo, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Peter Anekwe, Emeka Idu, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, along with Afam Ogene. Out of Lagos come Thaddeus Attah, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, George Olwande, and Jese Onuakalusi. Then there’s Murphy Omroruyi from Edo state, while Umezuruike Manuchim hails from Rivers.

That Kogi politician, Leke Abejide? Right – off he went, not to the NDC but into the arms of the ruling APC. Same story though: the ADC keeps losing ground.

Akpabio couldn’t resist

Out came laughter from Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who turned the chamber into his stage. Not one to hold back, he poked fun at the ADC in full view of lawmakers that Tuesday. Spoken loud, his words landed sharp – calling the party finished before applause filled the hall.

“Maybe all those defecting from ADC should compile everything in one paper and bring it, so that we don’t keep announcing, announcing, announcing,” Akpabio quipped. The chamber reacted. He wasn’t done.

“How many times can you defect in a month? Once. But some have done three times,” he laughed.

Maybe they could hand over one list, he said, rather than announcing each name separately. That way, it wouldn’t seem like something performed every morning.

On May 1, he stepped down from the party. Among those moving to the NDC stood Senator Victor Umeh. What pushed him? The reading of his note by Akpabio revealed ongoing splits at the top – plus court battles that just would not stop – inside the ADC.

“When the coalition came together, it came with a lot of hope. Along the line, legal twists were introduced in the matter,” Umeh explained later.

Akpabio didn’t hold back when mentioning Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, whose political moves have shifted fast – starting with APGA, then jumping to ADC, lately landing in the Labour Party. Though he said it plainly, the point landed just the same.

Why this matters

Truth is, none of this feels random. Weeks ago, multiple opposition groups promised to back one leader against President Bola Tinubu in 2027 – now moves follow fast. Behind every shift sits that deal.

Out of nowhere, Obi took firm hold of the South-East dialogue. Meanwhile, up north-west, Kwankwaso built something solid. When they stepped away from the ADC, it was never just about them. Whole circles moved because they did.

Numbers speak loud here. Last week the ADC held twenty-four seats in the House. Today only six remain. Vanished overnight. That fast.

Now even the PDP finds itself in rough waters. Once seen as the main force against power, it barely keeps balance today. Down from 116 seats at the start of the 10th Assembly in June 2023, only 29 remain under its name. Such a fall shocks most who’ve been watching.

Kwankwaso fixes issues in Kano

Later in Kano, chaos followed when Kwankwaso left his party. Trouble started because Hussaini Mairiga, head of the state NDC, refused to hand over control. Meetings happened at different times, led by each man. They did not come to terms. Anger grew between them.

By Tuesday, Kwankwaso had already sat down with Mairiga alongside several main figures. Once the meeting ended, Mairiga’s stance shifted – suddenly his words carried a new rhythm.

“We had a fruitful discussion with Sen. Kwankwaso and other critical stakeholders of our great party. All lingering issues have been amicably resolved in the interest of unity and progress,” he said.

“We recognise Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as our leader in Kano State.”

Now moving fast, Kwankwasiyya supporters are exiting the ADC one after another. According to spokesperson Mansur Kurugu, nearly every House of Representatives member tied to the group has switched sides. Most have gone ahead with the shift.

Anambra is feeling it too

Southward, more than 23 hopefuls left the ADC in Anambra State. These members once backed Obi, says Ike Uzor, who speaks for the party.

“The defections followed the prolonged leadership crisis within the ADC, which has left many of its national and state assembly aspirants uncertain about their prospects of contesting the 2027 general elections on the party’s platform,” Uzor told Reportersroom by phone from Awka.

Nowhere near enough candidates remain with the ADC in Anambra. A few of the hopefuls moved toward the NDC instead. Meanwhile, different ones landed inside the SDP camp. Slowly but surely, their lineup keeps shrinking.

Still, Victor Ogene sees it differently. The lawmaker from Ogbaru Federal Constituency believes the issue runs deeper than just the ADC party itself.

“What is happening in the ADC is not targeted at the party itself; it is targeted at one individual – Mr. Peter Obi,” he said. “And, I will provide empirical evidence to support this position.”

That’s a big statement. Time will tell what actually happens.

ADC claims everything is okay – though chances are, it really isn’t

What did the ADC say officially? Nobody seemed to care.

“We are not in any way disturbed,” said National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi during a phone chat with Reportersroom. “The credibility of the ADC as an opposition party does not depend on the number of federal and state lawmakers.”

He went further. “The people who left are idol worshippers, following their idols that they believe will help them to win the elections. We wish them good luck, but the core structures of our party remain intact.”

Strong words. But when you’ve gone from 24 lawmakers to six in a matter of days, “not disturbed” feels like a stretch.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State chapter is putting on a brave face. State Chairman-elect Dr. Chukwudi Dimkpa released a statement insisting the party “remains strong, united, and firmly committed to its mission.”

“The strength of the party lies not in individuals, but in its values, structures, and the collective will of the people,” he said.

Fair enough. But political parties survive on numbers. And right now, the ADC’s numbers are in freefall.

The NDC isn’t making promises yet

Interestingly, the NDC itself is playing it cool on the question of automatic tickets. National Secretary Ikenna Enekweizu told Reportersroom that the party hasn’t even discussed the issue yet.

“The issue of automatic ticket is a policy of the party that will be discussed if the need arises. It has not come up for mention in our meetings,” he said. “In the meantime, we are interested in building the party to make it the obvious choice of Nigerians nationwide.”

Translation: everyone’s welcome, but no promises. Not yet anyway.

What happens next?

The 2027 race is still a ways off, but the political chessboard is already being rearranged. With Obi and Kwankwaso now firmly inside the NDC—and dozens of lawmakers following their lead—the opposition landscape looks dramatically different than it did even a month ago.

The real question is whether all these pieces can actually come together. Nigeria’s opposition has a long history of fracturing at the worst possible moments. Coalition talks that looked promising on paper have collapsed before—over zoning, over trust, over who gets to be in charge.

Can the NDC avoid the same fate? That depends on whether the glue holding this thing together—Obi and Kwankwaso’s combined influence—can actually bind long enough to mount a serious challenge in 2027.

For now, the ADC is watching its house crumble. The PDP is barely holding on. And the NDC is suddenly the hottest ticket in town.

Funny how fast politics moves in this country. One week you’re a minor party. The next, you’re the opposition’s best hope.

Time will tell if that hope survives the journey.