Okechukwu Warns ADC Over PDP’s Implosion, Cautions Against Breaching Zoning Convention

Osita Okechukwu, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has warned the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to tread carefully, following the rejection by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Describing the INEC decision as “karma finally taken home,” Okechukwu cautioned that the ADC could face a similar fate in 2027 if it violates the rotation convention, a principle he said underpins Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) said: “I hope that when ADC succumbs to the temptation of power in 2027 and breaches the rotation convention by not allowing the South to complete the traditional eight years in Aso Villa, they will not blame President Bola Tinubu or APC for any perceived imposition of a one-party system. It will amount to boarding a vehicle tagged ‘No Refund after Payment.’”

Okechukwu recalled that warnings had been issued to Ndigbo against relying solely on the PDP since the 1999 presidential election, when the party denied its founder and former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the presidential ticket. He also cited the 2003 and 2007 elections, when Rt. Hon. Dr. Chuba Okadigbo and Rt. Hon. Edwin Umezoke were fielded, as well as the 2011 and 2019 polls.

He argued that ADC is on the same trajectory as the PDP, particularly in assuming that northern voters will automatically deliver 12 million votes in support of Atiku Abubakar, regardless of the rotation principle that guarantees inclusion, equity, and a sense of belonging.

Okechukwu stressed that the PDP leadership should accept the “bitter pill of karma” rather than blame President Tinubu or the Wike-led G-5 governors for the party’s implosion. He emphasized that adherence to the zoning convention is crucial for national unity in a fragile and polarized polity, warning that its breach could similarly destabilize the ADC.