A political analyst and editor at Arise News, Sumner Sambo, has advised leading opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to reconsider their political alignment amid the deepening crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking on The Morning Show on Monday, Sambo said the party is currently grappling with legal disputes and internal structural issues that could undermine its viability as a coalition platform ahead of the 2027 elections.
He pointed to lingering controversies over the legitimacy of the party’s leadership, including challenges linked to figures such as David Mark, Ralph Nwosu, and Nafi Bala Gombe, as well as separate court cases questioning the party’s executive structure.
“I think if they have very good strategies, they will start thinking of looking for another political party to adopt at the moment because the problems are numerous,” Sambo said.
He added: “Don’t forget, just last week, I had a one-on-one with one of those who have been traveling with the ADC very well. He actually told me that, look, apart from all these issues that we’re talking with Nafi Bala Gombe, there’s also another case which actually claims that even Ralph Nwosu was an illegal or illegitimate executive. And so the case is there separately from this.”
Sambo said while the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may appear to be benefiting from the opposition’s internal divisions, the ADC’s challenges are largely self-inflicted.
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“I wouldn’t advise that they should go ahead with the ADC right now, because the ADC is entangled with so much problems, and it could be a challenge, and it is not the fault of the APC,” he said.
“Let’s be very frank and fair. The APC is harvesting from this challenge, but also the ADC leaders knew some of this.”
He further referenced comments by Nasir El-Rufai, suggesting that alternative political platforms may already be under consideration by some stakeholders.
“I heard that they’ve been trying to approach the Nigerian Democratic Congress owned by Seriake Dickson,” Sambo said, warning, however, that such moves could also face legal hurdles.
“They should also be very careful, because I also heard from other people saying that these other courts where the new registered parties were registered by an act of court, and so if they do approach some of those parties, somebody may go back and challenge or appeal some of those cases that led to the registration of these parties by INEC.”
He concluded by questioning the state of political organisation within the opposition, adding: “But is this how our quality is supposed to be? No, it is interesting that you know.”
