In May 2018, former President Olusegun Obasanjo made a significant impact on the political scene when his Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a platform to challenge the administration of then-President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Naijaonpoint recall that the announcement, made during a press conference on May 10, 2018, was attended by Obasanjo, former Osun State governor and CNM co-convener, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and several other political stakeholders.
Obasanjo, in his remarks, pitched the CNM as a non-partisan movement designed to “redeem” Nigeria from what he described as the “lice of poor performance” under Buhari’s leadership.
He said, “Let me start by welcoming and commending the emergence of a renewed and reinvigorated African Democratic Congress, ADC, as a political party.
“Since the inception of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), many of the sixty-eight registered political parties had contacted and consulted with the movement on coming together and working together.
“The leadership of the movement… have agreed to adopt ADC as its platform to work with others for bringing about desirable change in the Nigerian polity and governance.”
Oyinlola echoed Obasanjo’s stance, describing the move as a vote of confidence in ADC’s progressive values.
“The decision to move into ADC was an appreciation of the progressive essence of the party and its untainted existence on the terrain of our nation’s politics,” he said.
He further assured Nigerians that the fusion was “the first in a multi-layered action plan to give back the country to its much-deprived people.”
Despite the bold declarations, the alliance between CNM and ADC lasted barely three months. By August 2018, cracks had begun to show.
A faction of the CNM announced its withdrawal from the ADC and formed a new splinter group called the New African Democratic Congress (N-ADC).
At a press conference in Abuja, Precious Elekima, protem national chairman of the breakaway group, said the exit was due to ADC’s decision to join the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) without broader consultations.
Elekima criticised ADC’s participation in CUPP, a mega alliance involving 36 opposition parties including PDP and the Reformed APC (R-APC) as a betrayal of Obasanjo’s call to reject both the PDP and APC.
He stated, “We withdrew because ADC leadership joined CUPP without consulting stakeholders. This move defied Obasanjo’s clarion call for a clean break from the old political order.”
Despite the flurry of MoUs and coalition talks, the opposition’s grand alliance under CUPP failed to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari, who secured re-election in 2019.