Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The African Democratic Congress has accused the All Progressives Congress of manufacturing defectors and presenting them to Nigerians as legitimate opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections. In a statement issued on Monday, September 28, 2026, by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC challenged the ruling party to produce evidence of the political credentials it attributed to individuals it paraded at its national secretariat in Abuja. The opposition party described the alleged defectors as neither its candidates nor its leaders, accusing the APC of conferring what it called imaginary ADC credentials on individuals who had no standing within the party. The ADC's intervention came after the APC announced that House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara States had defected to the ruling party, a claim the opposition party dismissed as a political stunt devoid of substance.
The controversy began when the APC national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, received a delegation of purported defectors at the party's national secretariat. The delegation was led by Aslam Aliyu, popularly known as Gimbiyar Kauran Namoda, while Mohammed Hassan, described as an ADC candidate from Zamfara State, delivered the delegation's remarks. Hassan said the defectors were joining the APC for a larger purpose, declaring that they were not there merely to change political platforms but to begin a new chapter of service and contribute to the people by supporting President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda in 2027. Yilwatda welcomed the defectors and urged them to return to their states and local government areas to mobilise support for the ruling party. He also used the occasion to defend the Federal Government's development initiatives in the North, citing ongoing road projects including the Abuja-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri corridors, as well as roads linking Jos to Akwanga, Sokoto to Kebbi, Kano to Daura and Zaria to Danja. The APC chairman questioned how the opposition would fund its promise to restore fuel subsidy, warning that any attempt to return the subsidy would cripple the North and halt ongoing road, gas and fertiliser projects.
The ADC's response was swift and unsparing. Abdullahi said the APC chairman was free to receive visitors at the party secretariat, but he should not introduce them to Nigerians as ADC candidates. "The APC cannot assemble random individuals at its secretariat, confer imaginary ADC credentials on them and then announce their defection," Abdullahi said. "These people are not our candidates." He challenged the APC to identify the offices the alleged defectors supposedly held within the ADC, the constituencies they represented as candidates, and when they held those positions. "The APC should state the ADC offices these individuals supposedly held, the constituencies they represented as our candidates and when they held those positions," the party said. The ADC also rejected the APC's claim that the alleged defectors were attracted by what the ruling party described as the remarkable transformation of Northern Nigeria under the present administration. The opposition party questioned how such claims translated into relief for Nigerians facing high food prices, insecurity and mounting household expenses. "Having invented ADC credentials for its guests, the APC has supplied an equally imaginative account of its performance over the past few years," the ADC said. "Nigerians are asking for evidence of better lives; the APC is manufacturing photographs and congratulating itself."
The exchange comes as political parties intensify their mobilisation and positioning ahead of the 2027 general elections, with defections and claims of growing support becoming a major feature of the emerging political contest. The ADC has itself been active in the political realignment space, having earlier in the year announced the defection of several prominent figures from other parties. The party has positioned itself as a major opposition platform, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. The APC, for its part, has been working to consolidate its support base and project an image of momentum ahead of the election. The dispute over the authenticity of the defectors is therefore not merely a matter of political trivia. It goes to the heart of the credibility of the claims that parties make about their growing strength and the viability of their electoral prospects.
The ADC's decision to publicly challenge the APC to produce evidence of the defectors' credentials is a direct attempt to undermine the ruling party's narrative of momentum. By describing the defectors as imaginary, the opposition party is seeking to portray the APC as desperate and willing to manufacture political support to create the impression of inevitability. The APC, for its part, has not yet responded to the ADC's specific demand for evidence. The ruling party's national chairman has not issued a statement clarifying the identities of the individuals he received or their positions within the ADC. The silence from the APC leaves the ADC's claims unanswered and the authenticity of the defection ceremony in doubt.
For the APC, the defection ceremony was an opportunity to project strength and demonstrate that its Renewed Hope Agenda was attracting support across the North. For the ADC, it was an opportunity to challenge the ruling party's credibility and position itself as the party that would not be intimidated by political theatre. For Nigerians, the exchange is another reminder that the 2027 election campaign is already well underway, and that the battle for the narrative will be as fiercely contested as the election itself. The question of whether the defectors are real or imaginary may never be definitively answered. What is clear is that the ADC has thrown down a challenge that the APC cannot ignore. If the ruling party cannot produce the evidence the opposition demands, its claims of growing support will be dismissed as political propaganda. If it can, the ADC will have to explain why it failed to recognise its own former candidates. Either way, the controversy has added another layer of intrigue to a political season that is already shaping up to be one of the most contentious in Nigeria's recent history.
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