ADC, Keyamo exchange words over zoning, Obi’s defection

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and the coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) have traded words over zoning, the same-faith ticket, and the recent defection of opposition politician Peter Obi.

Following Obi’s move from the Labour Party to the ADC, Keyamo, in a post on X on Thursday, accused the ADC of refusing to declare its position on zoning.

Keyamo, who also served as a campaign spokesman for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election, alleged that the party avoided taking a stance on zoning to accommodate the ambitions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku, a northerner, has long been seen as expecting his region to rotate into the presidency after the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure in the North, while some Nigerians believed the South should also take eight years. Currently, incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has served four years.

“There is no hiding place for the opposition, just like there is no hiding place for the ruling party,” Keyamo said.

He alleged that the ADC was reluctant to zone its presidential ticket because of Atiku’s interests.

“The ADC is scared to clearly zone its presidential ticket, like the other major parties (PDP and APC) have done, because the party belongs to one man called Atiku Abubakar. It is the exact corner that Atiku pushed PDP to in 2023 that ADC now finds itself — the inability to zone its presidential ticket.

“In a highly sensitive country like Nigeria, any pan-Nigerian party must be clear as to zoning. The APC governors did so in 2023 and triumphed. The PDP is still reeling from that disastrous decision in 2023.”

Keyamo added that Atiku is attempting to “camouflage with Peter Obi and surreptitiously secure his votes” to win the presidency on what he described as a “flawed template that will damage our fragile unity as a nation.” He accused Obi of supporting the move for selfish reasons, saying it risks “throwing the entire country under the bus for a mess of pottage called a VP ticket.”

In response, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, also on X, described Keyamo’s statement on zoning as incorrect.

“On a serious note, your perspective on the issue of zoning is not correct,” Abdullahi said, noting that APC’s presidential primaries had previously been open to all regions.

He recalled: “This was why Rochas Okorocha was able to contest alongside Buhari, Kwankwaso, Atiku, and Sam Nda-Isaiah,” adding that a similar pattern played out in 2023.

Abdullahi also criticised the APC over the use of zoning as a mechanism for national unity.

“Talking about zoning as a mechanism for strengthening national unity, you would agree with me that this also includes religious balancing, which has proved to be even more fundamental to our national cohesion than geographical considerations.

“Yet, APC put a knife to this fragile rope of national unity when it settled for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, producing President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.”

He emphasised that the ADC is focused on building a winning coalition and that “nothing is settled yet.”

“According to what ADC is putting together, this is a winning coalition. Therefore, for us, nothing is settled yet.”

Meanwhile, the rival faction of the Labour Party, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, has welcomed Obi’s defection to the ADC, insisting that the party had given its full backing to his political engagement with the coalition long before his formal exit.

In a press release signed by Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Interim National Chairman, the faction stated:

“On 26th May 2025, the Labour Party issued a statement confirming that the participation of His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, in the ADC coalition received the full blessings of the party,” adding that the position was reaffirmed after the official unveiling of the ADC in July 2025.

The Nenadi-led faction said the party had not withdrawn the support earlier extended to Obi, assuring members across the country that there was “no cause for alarm” despite the former presidential candidate’s formal entry into the ADC. It said the party leadership remained focused on what it described as a struggle to reclaim the Labour Party from “the stranglehold of entrenched interests.”

According to the statement, statutory organs of the party would meet to chart a new direction in the aftermath of Obi’s exit, expressing confidence that the party’s fortunes would soon be revitalised. The faction also pointed to its ongoing membership revalidation and registration exercise, which it said was already yielding positive results.

It further assured Nigerians that the Labour Party, under the leadership of Senator Nenadi Usman, would offer a credible alternative in the 2027 general election, insisting that the party would “return stronger, better organised, and more focused,” even as it accused the ruling APC of presiding over a “rudderless government.”

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