Nigerian political heavyweight Peter Obi has withdrawn from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a newly formed opposition coalition designed to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the January 2027 elections. Obi, who secured a quarter of the popular vote in 2023 and benefited from massive youth support, cited “endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division” as his reasons for abandoning the alliance. Obi has now joined the relatively unknown Nigeria Democratic Congress. The defection weakens the united opposition front and benefits Tinubu, as it increases the likelihood that the anti-incumbent vote will be fractured once again. The split highlights the Nigerian opposition’s struggle to build durable alliances capable of challenging the ruling establishment in Africa’s largest democracy.
Semafor
