Fratricidal Struggles and the Future of ADC
by Okoi Obono-Obla
How can a political party that has so loudly proclaimed its mission to rescue Nigeria and usher in change be consumed by violent, irreconcilable factions? Across the country, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is mired in bitter disputes, with members locked in relentless struggles over positions and influence.
Just last week in Edo State, the factions loyal to Senator Rowland Ovie and Chief John Oyegun clashed fiercely, even resorting to the use of dangerous weapons. When members of the same party—who ought to share common interests, objectives, fraternity, and a philosophy for governing Nigeria—descend into internecine warfare, how can they credibly present a united front against a rival party like the APC, with its vast followership and formidable machinery?
With the general election less than a year away, the ADC should be consolidating, mobilising, and expanding its reach nationwide. Instead, it is engaged in fratricide and self‑destruction. In Cross River State, where the party has no representation in either the state or local government legislature, the ADC has splintered into three factions: the Senator Liyel Imoke group, the Dr. John Ogar group, and a PDP‑aligned faction. These groups are battling for control of a party that has failed to gain traction—only about 6,000 people have registered with the ADC in a state of nearly five million. This dismal figure underscores the party’s lack of grassroots appeal. No wonder President Bola Ahmed Tinubu once described politicians who migrated from the APC to the ADC as “internally displaced politicians who are pathologically peripatetic.”
Conclusion: Unless the ADC urgently resolves its internal crises and rallies around a coherent vision, it risks sliding into political irrelevance. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and a party consumed by internal warfare cannot credibly promise national rescue.
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