A Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), and former Secretary to the Government of Nigeria, Babachir David Lawal has reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), dismissing any suggestion of divided political loyalty.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Lawal emphasised that the party was founded on strong ideological principles, long-term vision, and structured processes, rather than the pursuit of immediate political gains or dominance.
“I remain in ADC along with all other people of like minds, and I think we are doing well. We joined ADC to build a party that has ideology, that has longevity, that will focus on processes and procedures rather than on a frantic urgent outcome,” he said.
Speaking on Peter Obi’s involvement in the ADC, Lawal said Obi joined the coalition after key structures were in place, with lingering doubts about his commitment.
“Peter Obi joined the coalition after it had all begun for quite a long time. And let me tell you the history of it. He had always been somebody that is very shifty when it came to ADC. We never felt his heart was in it. And we went over backwards since we are a party that is broad-based, we want to carry everybody along to accommodate Peter Obi. I’ll tell you, at one time we just felt that he needed some encouragement to stay in the party, and we offered him to single-handedly bring the organizing secretary of the party, who is at the heart of the processes of the party. We offered it to him. Bring it, whoever, whoever, whoever you want, we’ll accept him. We never extended that goodwill to any other member of the party. So you can see right from inception, we suspected that his heart was not with us,” he claimed.
Lawal dismissed suggestions that Obi harboured suspicion toward the ADC, instead attributing his stance to what he described as “fear” of a competitive primary process.
“I don’t think it is suspicion. I think it’s fear,” he said.
He further clarified that his past support for Obi during the 2023 election cycle was not rooted in personal loyalty but in a temporary alignment of political goals.
“Everybody had his own route to get him there. It’s up to him. I was never a member of the Labour Party throughout the time I was supporting Peter Obi. It just so happened that at that particular time, in that election cycle, our goals, you know, merged, aligned, and we felt that we could support each other and pursue the same goal,” he explained.
Rejecting claims of inconsistency, Lawal maintained that political support should be based on evolving realities rather than fixed allegiance to individuals.
“Consistency in politics is not about the person. As life progresses, you meet better materials.”
Adding, the ADC chieftain reiterated his stance on Peter Obi, Lawal argued that the former governor effectively forfeited his support by leaving the party platform.
“He hasn’t even lost my support. He threw away my support because he left the platform on which we were operating. Yeah, that’s the platform, I have to operate on my own party platform. I can’t go and do anti-party because Peter Obi is tall or short or educated or what is it for? I have my own plans and processes and what I want to achieve in the party,” he stressed.
Speaking on Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s defection from the ADC to the NDC, Lawal downplayed the political impact, insisting that such movements do not significantly alter overall electoral strength.
“It looks like it’s a big thing or something. If Peter Obi leaves, and the South East decides to leave with him, they go with the House of Rep members. Well, there were quite a number of Northerners there as well. If Kwankwaso decides to leave with the 44—about 44 members of the House of Rep or whatever in Kano—some will follow him. In fact, if they are saying 17, it means that it is not much given the number of Kano State people that are in the House of Rep, South East people that are in the House of Rep. If only 17 are able to go with them, they should pray that the rest are on their side,” he said.
He dismissed the idea that opposition fragmentation automatically secures victory for the APC, arguing that electoral outcomes depend on how votes shift across regions rather than party defections alone.
“No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t automatically guarantee. So our position is that the votes that the NDC will take majorly are going to be out of what could have naturally gone to the APC from the South.”
He also said that the ADC has not yet decided on zoning its presidential ticket, stressing that such strategic decisions would only be made after congresses and primaries, not prematurely.
“ADC has not taken any position either way whether it will be zoning its own presidential candidate or not. No, it has not taken any position. We were waiting; first of all, let’s get out of the congresses, then we go to the primaries, which is the season we’re in. This is the right time to make such decisions, and this is the right time to also make decisions on consensus. You don’t start the zoning when you’ve not built a party, while you’ve not got a structure and all that,” he said.
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