by Ogbeni Olawale Dawodu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has tightened its hold on Nigeria’s political terrain, sweeping 12 of the 16 constituencies contested in Saturday’s by-elections across 13 states.
According to results compiled at press time, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) clinched two seats, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) picked one each. The much-hyped African Democratic Congress (ADC), despite strong political backing and pre-election momentum, failed to win a single constituency.
“This victory is another clear indication that Nigerians still trust the APC to deliver on its promises,” an APC chieftain in Lagos said Sunday night. “The opposition may make noise, but on the ground, we remain the preferred choice.”
The polls, which fielded 637 candidates from 17 parties for 68 vacant state and federal seats, were billed as a litmus test for the ADC. Opposition figures had recently adopted the party as a potential rallying platform to challenge APC dominance in 2027.
But the outcome told a different story. Seats in Ibadan North Federal Constituency, Onitsha North 1, Anambra South Senatorial District, and Bagwai Shanono Constituency went to PDP, APGA, and NNPP candidates, leaving ADC empty-handed.
Ahead of the elections, interim National Chairman of ADC, David Mark, had urged Nigerians to back what he described as a “child of necessity” party. “The ADC is here to offer a credible alternative to the APC and to rescue democracy,” Mark declared at a rally.
Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, who defected from APC and openly campaigned for ADC’s candidate in Chikun/Kajuru, Alex Adamu, had also framed the polls as a chance for voters to “give ADC a chance to prove its strength.”
But the reality on the ground proved less flattering. “We were harassed, our members were intimidated, and security agencies were used against us,” complained Femi Soluade, Ogun State chairman of ADC. “The playing field was not level.”
Former ADC chairman Ralph Nwosu went further, accusing the ruling party of orchestrating a “total sweep strategy” to frustrate opposition ahead of 2027.
For now, however, APC’s emphatic victory reinforces its political supremacy, while ADC is left facing difficult questions about its electoral weight and its readiness to mount a credible challenge in the next general elections.
