The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is becoming deeply unpopular among Nigerians, adding that no amount of defections can save the APC from defeat in the 2027 general elections.

The party’s position was contained in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who was reacting to the news that key ADC members would soon defect to the ruling party.

Mallam Abdullahi said the APC’s desperation to attract members from other political parties shows that it has become deeply unpopular among Nigerians.

“The attention of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been drawn to the declaration by the National Chairman of the ruling APC, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Jos that ‘key ADC figures’ will be received into the APC next week.

“This statement underscores a deep realisation by the ruling party that it cannot be saved even if all the governors in Nigeria defected to it. This is why, even with all the governors and senators they have been bragging about, the APC is still desperate for ADC members,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC accused the ruling party of bringing untold hardship upon Nigerians, noting that the APC’s current recruitment drive is a reflection of its loss of credibility and public trust.

“The truth remains that the APC realises that it has become the most hated party in Nigeria, and no amount of defections can save it from Nigerians whose lives and livelihoods the ruling party has destroyed since it came to power,” Abdullahi said.

The party also argued that the recent wave of defections into the APC amounts to a betrayal of the Nigerian people by members of the political elite who are more concerned with their own survival than with public welfare.

“Like we have noted earlier, the recent gale of high-profile defections to the ruling party is properly understood by ordinary Nigerians as a gang-up against the people by a ruling elite who have left the people behind in abject poverty and are only interested in self-preservation even as their people wallow in misery,” the party stated.

The ADC challenged the APC National Chairman to name the supposed “key figures” expected to defect from the party, describing his remarks as another sign of the ruling party’s desperation.

“We wonder if the APC has run out of governors to seduce that it has now turned to shadowy references to unnamed ADC members? If these individuals are so ‘key’, let the chairman of the hated party mention their names,” Abdullahi added.

Drawing parallels between the APC and the former ruling party, the PDP, the ADC said the APC was repeating the same mistakes that led to the downfall of its predecessor.

“There is nothing new in the game that the APC is playing. It is the same ruinous game that the PDP played at the height of its powers. The APC will also learn the bitter lesson that real democratic power lies with the people and not a few power merchants,” the party said.