Political stakeholders in Kwara State have declared that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) represents a strategic and credible move by the opposition to rescue Nigeria from what they described as an imminent national collapse.
Speaking at his second annual colloquium, Associate Professor Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia, a former governorship aspirant under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said the ADC provides a viable coalition platform for opposition forces seeking genuine reform.
“It is only a strong opposition, free of direct and indirect influence from the ruling party, that can wrest Nigeria from what can be called the irony of a collapsing rich nation,” Ajia stated.
According to him, the ADC and other emerging platforms transcend partisan politics; they are symbols of democratic restoration, instruments of civic renewal, and tools for returning power to the people.
Addressing the theme, Interrogating the Nigerian State, Its Democratic Institutions, and the Looming Threats of State Capture, Ajia stressed that the rise of such platforms is a clear sign that democratic renewal is not only possible but already in motion.
He emphasized that the colloquium stands in solidarity with both formal and informal efforts to rebuild Nigeria into a truly accountable, inclusive, and citizen-focused republic. Describing the forum as more than an intellectual gathering, he called it a civic duty an annual call to interrogate power, demand reform, and reawaken the democratic spirit among citizens, thinkers, and changemakers.
Also speaking at the event, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, leader of the “O to Ge” political movement that toppled the Saraki dynasty in 2019, urged Nigerians to embrace new values and build a national structure rooted in justice and purpose.
He argued that democracy in Nigeria has yet to deliver meaningful dividends to the people, noting: “Twenty-six years of democracy has not substantially taken us far from dictatorship in content, if not in form. The structure built by our founding fathers has collapsed. We need new founding fathers with new values, a new structure, and a new national purpose.”
Tanko Yunusa, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, praised Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and called for greater political awareness among Nigerians.
In his remarks, the Kwara State Chairman of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Gender-Based Violence, Antonio Oshinewe, highlighted the systemic challenges confronting the judiciary and proposed solutions aimed at restoring its integrity and independence.
