The coalition of opposition parties under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has failed in its first major electoral test, securing just over 8,000 votes across 12 states in Saturday’s by-elections.
Recall that in June 2025, opposition politicians and some leaders of the ADC agreed to use the party as their joint platform for the 2027 elections.
The coalition includes notable figures such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, Uche Secondus, a former PDP national chairman, and former governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).
Others in the group are former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai; 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi; Rauf Aregbesola, former interior minister; Rotimi Amaechi, former transport minister; Solomon Dalung, ex-sports minister; Odigie Oyegun, a former APC chairman; and Bolaji Abdullahi, also a former sports minister, among others.
On Saturday, August 16, 2025, the ADC coalition, which is targeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s removal in 2027, participated in the election to test its popularity.
Before the election, the interim National Chairman of ADC, Senator David Mark, had, prior to the poll, appealed to Nigerians, particularly eligible voters, to support the party’s candidates for all the vacant seats.
Similarly, Peter Obi, El-Rufai, and other key members of the coalition vigorously campaigned for ADC candidates in Anambra, Kaduna, Edo, and other states.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured a majority of the seats in Saturday’s by-elections conducted across 16 federal and state constituencies in 12 states, according to results announced so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) also recorded some victories, while the ADC failed to secure any seat.
In fact, the party only secured 8,068 votes in the by-elections across 16 constituencies in 12 states.
In Kaduna, where elections were held at Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency, Basawa constituency, and Zaria Kewaye constituency, APC and PDP secured over 10,000 votes each in Chikun/Kajuru and Zaria Kewaye constituencies, while the ADC managed only 146 votes in Basawa.
In Oyo’s Ibadan North Federal Constituency, ADC’s candidate, Femi Akin-Alamu, finished far behind with just 88 votes, compared to PDP’s 18,404 and APC’s 8,312.
The story was not much different in Adamawa, where ADC polled just 42 votes, and in Edo, where the party could only secure 25 votes, against APC’s 77,053.
One of the few bright spots came in Taraba, where ADC’s Badina Garba scored 2,069 votes in the Karim 1 state constituency — still a distant third behind APC and PDP.
Also, Anambra offered the coalition its most meaningful presence. Donald Amangbo, contesting for the Anambra South Senatorial seat, managed 2,889 votes, while Justina Azuka secured 1,909 votes in the Onitsha North State Assembly race.
Combined, these accounted for more than half of ADC’s nationwide votes. Yet, APGA’s dominance in the state meant those efforts hardly shook the outcome.
The outcome of the by-election, according to INEC, showed that APC tightened its grip with sweeping victories in Edo, Ogun, Kogi, and Jigawa, and APGA held firm in Anambra; ADC struggled to register its presence.