‘We weren’t prepared for this’ – ADC left scrambling over INEC-level primaries

By Tolulope Oke

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has admitted that it was not prepared for the scale of logistics required to conduct nationwide primaries ahead of the 2027 elections.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the exercise came to the party as a major challenge because it required what he described as “INEC-level logistics.”

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Abdullahi said the party had expected the process to be difficult, but did not initially prepare for a nationwide primary of that magnitude.

According to him, the party had no choice but to brace up after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, made the process necessary as the only option aside from consensus.

“We always knew it was going to be a challenge because it requires an INEC-level logistics to be able to do a nationwide election.

“And I must admit that it came to us more or less as a curveball; we weren’t prepared to do this.

“But when INEC imposed it on us as the only option aside from the consensus, then we had no choice but to brace up for it,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC spokesman, however, rejected suggestions that the party’s consensus arrangement had collapsed.

He said consensus, if agreed upon, would still require a convention to formally affirm the outcome, but added that existing court issues made it impossible for the party to hold such a convention.

“I would not use the word collapse because it has its own dynamics.

“When you broker a consensus, it would still require you to do a convention to affirm the outcome of the consensus.

“And some of the court situations that we have at the moment do not allow us to hold a convention,” he said.

Abdullahi also dismissed fears that the outcome of the primaries could tear the party apart, saying the three aspirants involved had agreed to submit themselves to the process.

He said while disputes could arise in any political contest, the ADC had built internal structures to manage disagreements.

“The three gentlemen have committed to submit themselves to the primaries.

“We pride ourselves in the systems that we have put in place. And so far, we’ve not received any serious complaints about anything untoward,” he said.

The ADC spokesman said the party deliberately avoids imposition, adding that its internal politics is built around persuasion, negotiation and debate.

According to him, this may make the process more difficult, but it reflects the kind of political culture the ADC wants to present to Nigerians.

“The ADC is a party that prides itself in contestation, internal contestation of ideas, of positions.

“We don’t impose. In the ADC, we don’t direct, we don’t tell people what to do.

“We discuss, we negotiate, and we argue until we agree,” he said.

Abdullahi said the party should not be judged only by the individual ambitions of its aspirants, but by its manifesto, ethical code and internal principles.

He said all aspirants were required to sign up to the party’s ethical standards during screening.

“The ADC is being deliberately designed as a party that is able to impose its authority on its members at all levels.

“We have our manifesto, we have our ethical principles and philosophy that each of these leaders, each of these aspirants at the point of screening had to sign,” he said.

He also dismissed claims of a faction within the party, saying not every group of aggrieved members qualifies to be described as a faction.

“Faction is a technical term.

“For you to call a group of people a faction within a whole, certain qualities, certain qualifications, certain criteria have to be met,” Abdullahi said.

Speaking on what Nigerians should expect if the ADC comes to power, Abdullahi said the party would put citizens, not market forces, at the centre of governance.

He said every policy of an ADC-led government would be judged by how it affects the livelihood, security and wellbeing of ordinary Nigerians.