Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has officially resigned from the African Democratic Congress, citing endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and deep division within the party he joined less than six months ago as part of a grand opposition coalition. In a lengthy personal statement posted on his verified X handle on the morning of Sunday, May 3, 2026, Obi confirmed weeks of speculation that he was leaving the ADC, a party many had hoped would serve as the flagship platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election. His announcement came just two days after Buba Galadima, a senior figure in the New Nigeria People’s Party, told a stakeholders meeting in Abuja that Obi and his ally, former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, would formally exit the ADC on Monday. Obi’s Sunday statement preempted that timeline, delivering a definitive blow to a coalition that was already fraying at its seams.
In his resignation message, Obi made it clear that his departure was not driven by personal grievances against individual leaders of the ADC. He went out of his way to absolve the party’s national chairman, former Senate President David Mark, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of any personal wrongdoing. “Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them,” Obi wrote. Instead, he pointed to what he described as a toxic political environment manufactured by state agents. “The same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building.”
The internal crisis that finally pushed Obi out had been brewing for weeks. In late April, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment affirming the leadership of Senator David Mark over a rival faction, effectively ending a protracted legal battle that had paralysed the party’s structure. However, the apex court did not issue a declaratory judgment but instead referred key aspects of the dispute back to the High Court, leaving the ADC’s legal future in a state of limbo. Adding to the uncertainty, the Attorney General of the Federation had separately approached the court seeking the outright deregistration of the ADC, a move that allies of Obi interpreted as a deliberate ploy to trap him in a party that might not even be allowed to field a candidate in 2027. Professor Pat Utomi, a former presidential candidate of the ADC, explained that Obi was under immense pressure to leave because the party leadership had refused to commit to zoning its presidential ticket. “There are worries that Obi might be trapped in ADC, thus preventing him from being on the ballot paper,” Utomi told Sunday Telegraph. He disclosed that a number of polls had shown that if the ADC conducted direct primaries, Obi would defeat Atiku Abubakar “hands down,” but the reluctance of the leadership to commit to zoning, partly out of deference to Atiku’s ambition, had made staying untenable.
Atiku Abubakar’s role in the unfolding drama has been a subject of intense speculation. Multiple sources close to the Obi‑Kwankwaso camp told reporters that the decision to abandon the ADC was driven primarily by the perception that Atiku and his loyalists had taken over the party’s internal machinery. A source familiar with the negotiations revealed, “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the ADC. We discovered late that Atiku and his loyalists lured our leaders to that opposition party to fulfil only one single mission – Atiku’s presidential ambition.” Atiku, now 79, has indicated that the 2027 election would be his final attempt at the presidency, and his camp has been firm in its belief that he remains the most qualified candidate to challenge Tinubu. However, this stance has created an irreconcilable conflict with the growing movement behind Obi and Kwankwaso, whose supporters have been pushing for a joint ticket that would see a younger generation of leadership take the helm.
While Obi has officially stepped away from the ADC, his next political destination remains a subject of intense speculation. All indications point to a formal announcement as early as Monday, May 4, when Obi and Kwankwaso are expected to unveil their new political platform. Buba Galadima had told a gathering of the Obi‑Kwankwaso Movement in Abuja on Saturday that both leaders had already signed relevant documents with Senator Seriake Dickson, the former governor of Bayelsa State and national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress. “Both Obi, Kwankwaso and their chieftains were on ground between yesterday and this morning signing the relevant documents with Senator Dickson and the NDC leaders,” Galadima informed participants. However, the NDC itself has remained cautious, with Deputy National Publicity Secretary Abdulmumin Ohiare Abdulsalam clarifying that while discussions have been ongoing, the defection still falls “under the realm of probability rather than certainty.” The party has maintained an open‑door policy, describing itself as a “Noah’s Ark” for dissatisfied politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties.
Meanwhile, inside the ADC, frantic efforts are reportedly underway to salvage what remains of the coalition. Party leaders have been reaching out to both Obi and Kwankwaso in an attempt to understand their real positions and possibly persuade them to stay. ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi told reporters that the planned defection remains speculative for now, as no official announcement has been received. He insisted that party leaders are not trying to prevent the duo from leaving but rather seeking clarity. “For us, it is still at the realm of speculation. We have not seen any official announcement to that effect. When that happens we will respond accordingly,” Abdullahi said. On the other hand, a senior ADC chieftain who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Sun that the party’s leadership is working “around the clock” to resolve the grievances before Monday’s deadline. He expressed optimism that the issues would eventually be settled, though given Obi’s public confirmation of his departure, that optimism appears increasingly forlorn.
In his parting words, Obi reaffirmed that his political ambition is not driven by a desperate quest for office but by a deep desire to see a functional Nigeria. “Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work,” he wrote. He further declared, “I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes, where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry.” As he steps away from yet another political party following past exits from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the Labour Party, the question now is whether the new platform he joins will offer the stability and clarity that have so far eluded his political journey. For millions of his followers, Monday cannot come soon enough.
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