NDC: The new third force?

Sunday’s defection of front line presidential candidates in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has heightened expectations that the 2027 general elections would no longer be dominated by one party. Though a litany of political parties have been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since 1999, the presidential races in […]

Sunday’s defection of front line presidential candidates in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has heightened expectations that the 2027 general elections would no longer be dominated by one party.

Though a litany of political parties have been registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since 1999, the presidential races in each election cycle have been fought by two major parties.

As parties prepare for the next round of elections, however, chances of widening the political space were threatened when all the major opposition parties began to suffer from debilitating crises that threaten their chances of participation.

These lingered to the extent that even the two horse race scenario began to look forlorn as the prospects of a one party state began to writ large.

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Prior to the defection on Sunday, all the major opposition parties, the African Democratic Congress(ADC), the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) the New Nigeria  Peoples Party (NNPP) Social Democratic Party (SDP) appeared to be struggling to produce candidates to contest against the candidate of the ruling party.

Political analysts who spoke with our correspondents said what appeared like the rebirth of the NDC, has made its rating to shoot overnight to one of the foremost opposition parties in the country.

Since the 2023 elections, the opposition parties have found themselves trading positions in terms of rating with the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), which was the ruling party from 1999 to 2015, but remained the major opposition party. It, however, began to lose its grip when aggrieved members of the APC and those from within its ranks began to look for alternative parties.

In the 2023 elections, the Labour Party became the next in ranking after the PDP, followed by the NNPP.

But as the exodus commenced parties such as the Social Democratic Party began to attract prominent politicians like the former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

The influx of mainly PDP politicians into the African Democratic Congress tilted the balance with the latter upstaging the PDP to become the major opposition political party.

Sunday’s movement of the two 2023 presidential candidates into the NDC, has significantly changed the configuration with the latter looking like the third force. This is because as the APC remains the ruling party, the PDP and the ADC are enmeshed in crises while the NDC seems to offer fresh hope.

 

NDC confirms growing strength

The NDC’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Abdulmumini Ohiare Abdulsalam, told Daily Trust yesterday that the recent arrival of former  Kwankwaso and  Obi, is only the beginning of bigger things to come that would grow the party.

He said on Monday that more notable politicians are expected to join the party ahead of next year’s general elections.

“We have been expecting them, and their arrival is a plus for our party because they have the numbers,” Abdulsalam said. “They both lead movements that appeal to the youth, women, and the larger society.”

National leader of the party, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson said trust has been the driving force of the party.

He said, “What we are witnessing is a powerful convergence: my role as a party organiser and builder, alongside two political heavyweights with immense grassroots support, popularity and political experience, as well as several other leaders in their own right across the country, all coming together under one platform”.

He said the goal is to build an ideological political party, one that can be compared to the ANC in its finest years in South Africa, as well as established political parties across the globe and called on Nigerians to join the party participate, and contest elections.

 

Dispute over registration process

Since the NDC began to show prospects, questions have been raised regarding the registration of the party, with reports suggesting it was registered despite not being part of the original pre-qualified associations.

A chieftain of the All Democratic Alliance ( ADA), one of the eight associations that made the final shortlist, Umar Ardo, alleged that INEC deviated from its standard procedures while registering NDC.

Speaking on Trust TV in April, Ardo claimed the NDC was never part of the 2025 screening process and questioned how a party that supposedly did not apply could secure a court order for registration.

“The NDC did not apply or participate in the registration process. The party was nowhere to be found,” Ardo claimed. “How can it obtain a court order? What documents were presented to the Lokoja Federal High Court?

“If a contract is advertised and you don’t bid, you can’t go to court to demand the contract be awarded to you. I was part of the process from the beginning; I know the 14 associations that were listed, and the NDC was not among them.”

Checks by our correspondent revealed that INEC action followed a subsisting court order.

“The Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in suit No. FHC/LKJ/CS/49/2025 (Barr Takori Mohammed Sanni & Ors v. INEC), ordered the commission to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a political party,” an INEC source stated. “The commission has complied with the order, and a certificate of registration will be issued in due course.”

Deputy spokesman of the party reiterated that the party is duly registered. He said the registration journey began in 2017, but was delayed only because the commission, under Dr. Mahmood Yakubu, had temporarily suspended the registration of new political parties.

Abdulmumini, who also serves as the national spokesperson, clarified that the party is not embroiled in legal battles with any other political entity.

He noted that the only previous legal issue—a dispute with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the party’s logo—has been resolved. He confirmed that the court ruled in favor of the NDC.

He explained that the dispute originated in 2017, when the NDC first applied for registration. The process was initially stalled when INEC halted the registration of new political parties. Once the embargo was lifted, the NDC revived its application and was listed alongside 171 other political associations.

Initially, INEC declined the NDC’s logo—a two-finger sign—claiming it was too similar to the All Progressives Congress (APC) broom. However, the spokesperson maintained that the courts have since cleared the logo for use.

Leader of the NDC, Senator Dickson on his part, said they initiated the registration process for the NDC as far back as 2017, and that INEC granted approval at that time before the process was halted.

“When party registration resumed last year, we revisited and updated our earlier application. The other document shows a Google search we conducted on February 3, 2017, while searching for the appropriate “V-sign” as the party’s logo.

“With my experience in politics, I am fully aware that an ambitious project of this nature will attract distractions—rumours, gossip, propaganda, and even blackmail. These are all parts of the terrain that we are used to. I, therefore, urge Nigerians to discountenance and ignore such propaganda about the NDC or any of its leaders and remain focused on the bigger picture”.

In his acceptance speech, the NDC state chairman in Ondo  State,  Kennedy Peretei, after his election yesterday, said the country was currently at a critical political crossroads, declaring that the NDC was already gaining unprecedented national momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He claimed that over 10 million Nigerians had registered as members of the party within 48 hours, describing the development as a clear reflection of growing public frustration and desire for political change.

According to him, the registration figures are verifiable and not artificially generated.

“Anybody can go to the NDC website and confirm this,” he said, dismissing suggestions that the numbers were exaggerated or digitally manipulated.

Mr Peretei accused the federal government of attempting to suppress opposition voices, insisting that Nigeria’s democratic space must remain open to all political tendencies.

“There is a deliberate attempt to strangle opposition, but opposition believes that this country does not belong to anybody. This country belongs to all of us,” he said.

 

NDC elects excos in Adamawa, Cross River

The Adamawa State chapter of the NDC, yesterday  elected 33-man state executive officials  to run the affairs of the party for three years in the state.

Addressing the delegates from the 21 local government areas in Yola on Monday, Secretary, Congress Committee, Umar Ardo  Kumo, said that the exercise was conducted in a rancour-free atmosphere and in an orderly manner.

Kumo noted that the congress committee followed the guidelines in the party’s constitution and opted for a consensus arrangement where all the delegates affirmed the acceptability of new officials of the party from state chairman position down to ex-officio respectively.

In Cross River, a former stalwart of the APC and ex-chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Goddie Akpama, was elected chairman of the NDC in the state.

Akpama emerged through a consensus arrangement at the party’s state congress held in Calabar on Monday, in an exercise monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

 

Bases in Adamawa, Bayelsa

The former Special Assistant to Governor Douye Diri on NYSC matters, Dr. Appah Suoyo Kelvin, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

At the defection rally in Kaiama, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Monday, Dr Appah was received by the leaders of NDC in the state.

Appah, who had contested Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency 1 under the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) before joining APC, led his supporters to the NDC.

Few weeks ago, a serving Commissioner for Special Duties (Bayelsa West) and a former local government chairman, Micheal Magbisa, resigned his position and officially defected from the APC and pitched tent with the NDC.

He made the formal declaration to join NDC at the party’s state secretariat in Yenagoa, the city capital alongside his supporters, explaining that he left the ruling APC because of lack of ideology in the affairs of the party.

Barely two weeks before then, Governor Diri’s key political mobiliser and kinsman, Comrade Doubara Kumokou, also dumped the PDP with over 2800 of his supporters cutting across both PDP and APC for NDC.

Kumokou, popularly called ‘Youth Governor’ by his young supporters, before the defection, was leading the Prosperity Youth Coalition for Governor Diri in the state.

In Adamawa, the recent defection of Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani from the ADC to the NDC is believed to have opened a new chapter in the political trajectory of Adamawa State, especially with the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

 

Obi, Kwankwaso exit from ADC may weaken opposition – Kari

A political analyst, Professor Abubakar Kari, said the reported exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from the ADC was expected, warning that the development could weaken opposition’s chances ahead of 2027.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, Prof. Kari said the development did not come as a surprise, given the clear presidential ambitions of the key actors involved.

“Well, a lot of things have been said about this thing. But for me, first and foremost, what happened was not unexpected. I expected them to exit ADC for the simple reason that these are people who had made it very clear what they wanted,” he said.

He noted that both leaders had consistently signalled their intentions regarding the 2027 race.

“Kwankwaso publicly said he’s interested in only contesting for president or vice president and Peter Obi repeatedly made it very clear that he’s not going to be anybody’s vice president,” he said.

The professor added that the perceived dominance of Atiku Abubakar within the party also contributed to the development.

“Given the fact that Atiku is well-entrenched within ADC, I knew that sooner or later something was going to give. So probably more than any other reason, that’s why they had to leave, because they have to realise and pursue their political ambition,” he stated.

On the implications for opposition politics, he said the move could undermine efforts to build a united front against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The development may not be good for the opposition, because some people had hoped that perhaps if they stayed and pooled their resources together, the party stood a better chance of winning the election,” he said.

Citing the 2023 presidential election, he argued that a united opposition would have been more formidable.

“If you look at the arithmetic of the 2023 presidential election, the combined votes of Atiku, Peter Obi and Kwankwaso almost doubled that of Tinubu. And again, if all three of them had stayed together, I think ADC would have been stronger,” he said.

He warned that the latest development could lead to a repeat of a fragmented contest.

“Now it appears there will be a repeat of the three-horse race in 2027. That’s why the opposition are likely going to split their votes. And on the surface, that favours Tinubu and the APC, even though that is debatable.

“For a greater opposition, a far stronger one, a far cohesive one, I think it was a blow. But politicians, you cannot always predict what they will do,” he said.

On the way forward, he said opposition figures appear set on pursuing their ambitions on separate platforms.

“I think they have charted their way forward for themselves. They are looking for a platform to contest and it appears that they have gotten it,” he said.

He, however, noted that unseating the incumbent Bola Ahmed Tinubu may now be more difficult.

“Their goal of displacing Tinubu and the APC has become more difficult now. Because if you share your votes, if you divide your votes, it’s not the same thing as if you pool all your resources together and fight,” he said.

He added that while post-primary alliances remain a theoretical option, they are unlikely.

“Alternatively, maybe after the primaries, they could enter into some kind of understanding, but I don’t think that is possible. I think Atiku and Obi and Kwankwaso are determined to contest for the presidency. Notwithstanding the pessimism of many people about their chances, they are ready to fancy their chances the way things are now,” he said.

By Andrew Agbese, Hussein Yahaya, Musa Luka Musa (Abuja) Umar Dankano, (Yola)  Eyo Charles, (Calabar) Bassey Willie, Yenagoa