ADC Strategy must change to give APC run for their money– Ex presidential aide

A former presidential aide and veteran journalist Laolu Akande has said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) must change strategies to give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) a run for its money in 2027 elections. Speaking on the My Take segment of Inside Sources on Channels Television, the former presidential aide delivered a pointed assessment […]

A former presidential aide and veteran journalist Laolu Akande has said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) must change strategies to give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) a run for its money in 2027 elections.

Speaking on the My Take segment of Inside Sources on Channels Television, the former presidential aide delivered a pointed assessment of the situation, warning that without a fundamental shift in strategy, opposition parties risk irrelevance.
Akande painted a stark picture of the PDP’s internal erosion, highlighting the growing wave of defections and its implications for the party’s survival.
“So, if Governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi is porting from PDP and defecting to APC. That will leave Seyi Makinde of Oyo state as the last man standing. That was something like what happened to the incumbent president in Lagos in 2003.”
His comparison underscores the potential collapse of a once-dominant political structure into a fragmented entity, unable to mount a serious national challenge. The reference to Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde illustrates the shrinking pool of influential PDP figures capable of sustaining the party’s relevance.
Beyond the PDP’s internal troubles, Akande emphasized a broader issue confronting Nigeria’s opposition landscape—its inability to adapt politically in the face of a dominant ruling party led by Bola Tinubu.
“But the depletion of the PDP and the strivings of the opposition camps is telling us one loud truth. And this is it: if you really what to give the APC and president Tinubu a run for their money next year, there has to be a shift in the way electioneering is done and the way politics is mobilised.”
According to Akande, the opposition’s reliance on outdated political tactics places it at a disadvantage against Tinubu, whom he described as a master of the existing system.
“There is no path to any significant showing of victory for the opposition if all they do is play the same old game Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the ‘baba isale’ of that game today. Every serious observer of politics already knows that. ‘baba isale’ means the grandfather.”
He argued that defeating such an entrenched political force requires abandoning elite-driven politics in favor of a grassroots-oriented approach.
“The only way to play the game is to degrade elite politicvs now and find common cause with the grassroots. It is by the trending with large sections of the Nigerian population who are dissatisfied with the state of the nation while at the same time build a political consensus amonmg the gladiators in the opposition party – a consensus that is based on transparency.”
This call reflects a growing sentiment that opposition parties must reconnect with ordinary Nigerians, particularly amid widespread economic and social dissatisfaction.
Akande also weighed in on the contentious issue of rotational presidency, pushing back against arguments from figures like Dele Momodu and Ken Okonkwo.
“And to those in the opposition who are spinning against rotational presidency, Nigeria did not start in 1999. And the attempt to do the arithmentic that Southerners have spent more time since 1999 in the Presidential Villa, is lame. Nigeria started in 1960. This is to Mr Dele Momodu and Ken Okonkwo, let us do our arithmentic correctly. Rotational principle is a national consensus,”
His remarks reinforce the argument that power rotation remains a stabilizing principle in Nigeria’s fragile political balance and should not be dismissed for short-term political calculations.
Taken together, Akande’s analysis presents a sobering outlook for the opposition. The PDP’s decline is not merely a party-specific issue but a symptom of a deeper structural weakness across opposition forces. Without unity, grassroots engagement, and a departure from entrenched political habits, the path to electoral competitiveness remains uncertain.
As Nigeria approaches another critical election cycle, the message is clear: survival—and relevance—will depend on whether the opposition can reinvent itself in time.