Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, (APC), Dele Momodu has warned that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) risks squandering its growing momentum if it fails to urgently unite, adopt a clear strategy, and resolve internal ambitions ahead of the 2027 elections.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Momodu stressed that while the party is attracting significant political figures and positioning itself as a major opposition force, success will depend on swift decision-making, internal cohesion, and strategic clarity rather than mere popularity or crowd appeal.
“As the leader of ADC, I don’t think there is anyone in our party who can say that President Ebola is not a political figure. That’s number one. Number two, is that yesterday I watched your programme, and I was alarmed at the rate at which people are calling on the television or on the newspapers to steal black lives, to rewrite our history. I believe that is why I am here at this point. ADC will certainly get tickets. On strategy, it won’t be a dictate of one man or woman. My advice to ADC is simple. Time is not on our side. I have attempted to contest twice. First in 2011, and then in 2023. And I know that the head of the ADC is not interested. So, if we really want to contest a candidate who is going to be a regular candidate, I gave the same warning in 2022, before things fell apart. We must go together immediately and take a decision.”
He warned that the party must avoid the illusion that electoral victory can be achieved through enthusiasm alone. “To win an election is not just the crowd, it’s not just your ideas, it’s not how brilliant you are. Go back to the 2012 and look at how brilliant you were in 2016. At that time, I wasn’t a member of ADC. So, go back and you will see that what it is right now, you are not just going to produce a candidate who can take him out. It doesn’t work that way.”
Drawing comparisons with international politics, Momodu pointed to the United States. “Then they brought Kamala. The Democrats brought Kamala. She raised a lot of money. I like that. A lot of us really like that. At the end of the day, she did not defeat Donald Trump. Donald Trump, everything that was said against him is this, is that. But he was able to defeat Kamala.”
He further highlighted that Nigeria’s electoral dynamics are shaped largely by ethnicity. “My strategy, if I’m to advise ADC today, is that go to the North where there is crisis. Religion is going to be a factor. The North will prefer another one to another two that they are not even sure if they will get the next time. We’re talking strategy. I’m not talking about a person. I was a director of strategy. So, the analysis is this. Opposition in general is listening. You must go to those who need incentives. Give them the incentives because you have to compete with Chinugu when it comes to money, when it comes to structures. So, the only way you can compete is technically. You have to be technical. I don’t know why people cannot see it.”
Momodu dismissed arguments about an informal North-South power rotation. “let’s stop promoting this fallacy. Number one, there has never been a time the North did eight years, the South did eight years, the North did eight years. This is a new strategy by those who cannot compete. Obama did eight years, after which Yaladua did three years. So, who fought at that time? Did anyone fight? After Jonathan finished the one year, after the demise of his boss, did anyone fight to say the North should get power and finish their eight years? It never happened. As a matter of fact, Jonathan contested in 2011 and won. So, he did a total of five years. After that, he contested again for four years. I did not hear any journalist come to preach about it. What is happening to Yaladua’s style? It’s a falsehood. That’s number one. There is a deficit for the North if you want to go that route. The other thing is that the constitution of Nigeria does not stop anyone from contesting. That is why while he was contesting, nobody stopped him. So, when you say the two months agreement is superior to the constitution of Nigeria, you say that the meeting of people in the party supersedes that of the constitution.”
On candidate selection, he cautioned against building a campaign from scratch. “No, it’s going to be a re-election of what happened in the past. I said this, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You have two people who contested in the last election and did very well. Almost neck to neck. Iwad Atiku as number two according to INEC and the Supreme Court. Iwad Bita would be as number three according to INEC and the Supreme Court. So, why do you want to waste your energy to now start building structures? People will tell you we don’t need structures. You need structures. Look, the amount of money spent on getting monitors nationwide, every polling booth, you must have your people there. The incentive is not there and the time is not there for you to start that. So, you already have two people who have gone through this process and understand the challenges they face. They fought together in 2019. Some governors fought at Iwad Atiku in 2019 when they picked Peter. They said, no, we are superior. We are more experienced. We should not go that route. We are going to get what the APC wants from us. There is nothing to search for at this stage. There is no time for that. If you ask my opinion, you already have two of them. Let them go ahead and let all the others. If I have a kind of shadow cabinet, promise everybody what they will get. That is the only way.”
He pointed out that candidates like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi had already tested their strength in previous elections. “No, it’s going to be a re-election of what happened in the past. I said this, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You have two people who contested in the last election and did very well. Almost neck to neck. Atiku as number two according to INEC and the Supreme Court. Peter Obi would be as number three according to INEC and the Supreme Court. So, why do you want to waste your energy to now start building structures? You already have two of them. Let them go ahead and let all the others. If I have a kind of shadow cabinet, promise everybody what they will get. That is the only way.”
Momodu also warned that internal competition among aspirants. “First in 2011, and then in 2023. And I know that the head of the ADC is not interested. So, if we really want to contest a candidate who is going to be a regular candidate, I gave the same warning in 2022, before things fell apart. We must go together immediately and take a decision, On strategy, it won’t be a dictate of one man or woman. My advice to ADC is simple. Time is not on our side. We must go together immediately and take a decision.”
He emphasised that building nationwide electoral infrastructure requires significant resources, coordination, and time. “You need structures. Look, the amount of money spent on getting monitors nationwide, every polling booth, you must have your people there. The incentive is not there and the time is not there for you to start that.”
He proposed a pragmatic approach in which party leaders align interests. “If you ask my opinion, you already have two of them. Let them go ahead and let all the others. If I have a kind of shadow cabinet, promise everybody what they will get. That is the only way.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
