(ADC) deepened on Wednesday in Edo State as several prominent members officially dumped the party for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Among those who announced their exit were former Senate Chief Whip, Sir Rowland Owie, and ADC founding member, Sunny Aguebor.
The defectors blamed their decision on what they described as internal manipulation, leadership crisis, and growing confusion within the party at both state and national levels.
Speaking on the development, Owie accused some party leaders of hijacking the ADC structure in Edo for personal interests. He specifically alleged that former Edo State governor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, influenced the emergence of the party’s leadership in the state.
According to him, the chairmanship position had originally been zoned to Edo South and further micro-zoned to Oredo Local Government Area, where party members conducted what he described as a proper mini-primary between interested aspirants.
However, he claimed that the process was later overturned by a few powerful figures within the party.
“The leadership process became chaotic. Decisions were no longer based on agreement or fairness. Some people simply imposed their preferred candidate,” Owie said.
He also alleged that certain elective positions, including Senate and House of Representatives tickets, were already being reserved for politicians who had not even joined the ADC.
“What they tell you in the morning changes before afternoon. Many genuine party members became frustrated and decided to move on,” he added.
Owie maintained that most of the “real” ADC members in Edo had now joined the NDC, insisting that many remaining members were politically divided in loyalty.
On the national political situation involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is still associated with the ADC coalition talks, Owie declined to say much, stating only that “politics is local” and national alignments would unfold later.
Sunny Aguebor also defended the move to the NDC, saying the new platform appeared more stable and less troubled by legal disputes compared to the ADC.
Reacting to the defections, ADC State Publicity Secretary-elect, Christopher Ojeikere, dismissed concerns over the development, saying the party remained focused on preparations for its primaries ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The ADC is not shaken by these exits. We are moving ahead with our plans and preparing seriously for the primaries,” he said.
