Atiku not carrying party along in South-West, ADC leaders allege

Several African Democratic Congress leaders in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structure in the region by presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 election, Sunday PUNCH reports.

The leaders, including state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku was running his political activities in the region through friends and allies while sidelining the party structure. The paper gathered that the development was causing disaffection and slowing campaign activities.

The candidates reportedly raised their concerns with National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, at a September 4 meeting in Ibadan. Atiku subsequently held a virtual meeting with them and promised change, but a leader said “little has really changed since then.”

However, the ADC South-West Chairman, Akin Omole, absolved Atiku, saying: “We cannot push his friends away from him.”

Atiku’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the claims. “The claim that state party executives in the South-West have been sidelined is untrue,” he said, adding that no state campaign structure had yet been constituted.