Kenneth Okonkwo, a lawyer and member of the opposition coalition, has declared the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the only credible opposition party in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election, dismissing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) as political structures that now exist only on paper.
Speaking on Channels Television on Friday, Okonkwo, who was a spokesperson for Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential election, argued that the PDP and LP have lost relevance because their leaders are divided between supporting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ADC.
“Strictly speaking, there is no longer any party like the PDP or LP. They are just existing on paper because whoever is in the PDP is either supporting the APC or the ADC. That’s what it is,” he said.
Okonkwo pointed to the example of Nyesom Wike, a former Rivers State governor and minister in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, saying his open defiance of PDP leadership signalled the collapse of the party.
“You are there when Wike who is supposed to be a leader of the PDP had told you openly that he was going to support the presidential candidate of another political party. So, where is he? And he had told you that whatever he says is law. And in fairness to him, it has been like that,” he added.
The former LP campaign spokesman also dismissed Obi’s chances of contesting under his old party in 2027, insisting that the LP lacked the political structure to mount a credible challenge against the APC. He stressed that the ADC remains the only genuine platform for Nigerians seeking change.
“The ADC is going to do a democratic, free, fair presidential primary election, and whoever emerges, the party will support the person against Tinubu in 2027. That is the democratic thing to do,” Okonkwo said, noting that the party was “courting every Nigerian without any preference for anybody.”
On July 2, 2025, opposition heavyweights including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, former Senate President David Mark, ex-ministers Rauf Aregbesola and Rotimi Amaechi, as well as former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, adopted the ADC as their platform to challenge the APC in 2027.
But President Tinubu has dismissed the coalition, describing its promoters as “political IDPs” who are bound to “unseat themselves.” Speaking during a state visit to Nasarawa on June 25, he urged his supporters not to take them seriously.
“Just don’t pay them any attention. They are the political IDPs. Don’t give them a home. The hope is here,” Tinubu said.
The ADC, however, maintains that it is the alternative platform for Nigerians, with Okonkwo declaring, “In 2027, it’s going to be the people of Nigeria against the APC, and the ADC is that alternative that they should have.”
