Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has officially defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), signalled a major realignment within Nigeria’s opposition politics ahead of the 2027 general election.
Obi announced his defection on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, in Enugu, saying the move was driven by a shared commitment to “rescue” and transform Nigeria through a broad-based coalition of opposition leaders.
“We are ending this year with the hope that in 2026 we will begin a rescue journey,” Obi declared. He added that the coalition would “resist election rigging by every lawful means” in the 2027 polls.
The former governor urged opposition figures across party lines to unite “as one family” under the leadership of former Senate President David Mark, who currently serves as the National Chairman of the ADC.
The event drew a large crowd of political heavyweights, including former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha; Senators Victor Umeh, Tony Nwoye, Gilbert Nnaji, Sam Egwu, and Ben Obi; as well as Enyinnya Abaribe, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, and several serving and former lawmakers from across the country.
Other dignitaries in attendance included David Mark, former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, former governors from the South-East, and key ADC leaders nationwide.
Obi, a two-term governor of Anambra State, has traversed several political platforms in his career. He governed under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), later joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and defected to the Labour Party to contest the 2023 presidential election, where he emerged as a major opposition figure.
His move to the ADC comes about a month after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also defected to the party on November 24, 2025, further strengthening the ADC-led opposition coalition.
Atiku, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, has contested multiple presidential elections on different platforms, including the PDP and APC, and was the PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections.
With both Obi and Atiku now in the ADC, political observers expect intense internal consultations as the party prepares to select its presidential flagbearer ahead of the 2027 general election, where it aim to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The latest defection underscored growing momentum within opposition ranks as Nigeria’s political landscape gradually shifts toward the next election cycle.
