Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, Saraki, Amaechi Form Grand Alliance, Adopt ADC to Battle Tinubu in 2027

A powerful opposition force led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its official platform to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, after delays in the registration of their preferred party.

After a high-stakes meeting that lasted into the early hours of Wednesday, July 3, the coalition unveiled an interim leadership structure that includes former Senate President David Mark as National Chairman, ex-Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola as Secretary, and former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi as National Spokesperson.

The coalition, frustrated by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) delay in approving the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) — which it applied to register on June 19 and got acknowledgment on June 27 — resolved to activate the ADC as a nationwide mobilization structure pending further developments.

David Mark, a political heavyweight with strong grassroots appeal across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, is expected to guide the alliance through a transition that insiders describe as “a carefully calculated move to recreate the 2015 APC-style tsunami.”

Joining Atiku in this sweeping political realignment are Labour Party’s Peter Obi, APC dissenters like Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, ex-Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, and other key figures — forming the most ideologically diverse opposition front since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

The ADC, often viewed as a fringe party, now gains immediate national relevance and funding as the new face of Nigeria’s opposition. Talks are underway to rebrand the party, overhaul its structures, and make it attractive to young voters, civil society actors, and disillusioned PDP and APC members.

Political watchers say this move mirrors the formation of the APC in 2013 — when the merger of ACN, CPC, ANPP, and a faction of APGA led to the fall of Goodluck Jonathan’s PDP in 2015. With the 2027 election fast approaching, this new coalition could present Nigeria’s most serious electoral showdown in over a decade.