Obasanjo’s Party Splits As New ADC Emerges

Agency ReporterAugust 7, 2018

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Barely three months after the fusion of Coalition of Nigerian Movement (CNM) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), a faction pulled out on Tuesday, announcing itself as New African Democratic Congress (N-ADC).

Protem National Chairman of the group, Precious Elekima, made the announcement at a news conference in Abuja.

The CNM, founded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had in May adopted ADC as its political party.

In July, the ADC joined 36 other opposition parties and Reformed All Progressive Congress (R-APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form an alliance called Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).

The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to contest the 2019 general elections under one platform.

Mr Elekima said the N-ADC withdrew from ADC because it did not want to be a party in CUPP, explaining that ADC leadership joined the alliance without consulting stakeholders.

He said the formation of the group was to keep alive the mission of ADC to free Nigeria from backwardness, which the party (ADC) wanted to truncate by joining the coalition.

He recalled that CNM, which he claimed now had no fewer than five million members across the country, was formed after the publication of the “famous open letter’’ by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in January, 2018.

He said that by joining the alliance, the ADC defied the clarion call by Obasanjo for the rejection of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).