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By Obidike Izuogu
About a decade ago, I published an article in this newspaper titled “Requiem Imo PDP.” (Daily Sun Nigeria, March 14, 2016) In it, I expressed grave concern that the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, to which I then belonged, was drifting toward an avoidable crisis, driven by impunity, total absence of internal democracy, and a persistent disregard for its own constitution. That intervention was not animated by partisan hostility, but by genuine anxiety over the steady erosion of democratic norms within a party that once symbolized political inclusion and popular aspiration.
Regrettably, subsequent events confirmed those fears. The Imo PDP collapsed not necessarily because of external persecution, but due to internal decay. Leadership arrogance replaced collective decision-making, factional interests overran party discipline, and loyalty to personalities supplanted fidelity to rules. The PDP was operated like a commercial Franchise The result was electoral irrelevance and a profound loss of public trust. In abandoning internal democracy, the party also forfeited its moral claim to democratic leadership.
The broader implication of that failure extends beyond the PDP itself. It underscores a recurring pathology in Nigerian party politics: the inability of political parties to function as democratic institutions rather than mere electoral vehicles, controlled by self-serving power brokers This structural weakness has fueled voter apathy, elite recycling, and the growing alienation of young and politically conscious citizens in Imo State.
It is within this context that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has emerged as a credible alternative worthy of serious consideration. Unlike the legacy parties whose internal crises have become normalized, the ADC has deliberately positioned itself as a reform-oriented platform, one that emphasizes internal democracy, constitutionalism, and ideological coherence. For many Imo indigenes disillusioned by the failures of the dominant parties, the ADC represents not just another logo on the ballot, but a potential reset of political culture.
Yet optimism alone is insufficient. Nigerian political history is replete with parties that began as movements of reform, only to degenerate into replicas of the very structures they once opposed. The true test for the ADC, therefore, lies not in its rhetoric but in its institutional behavior. Can it entrench transparent internal democracy? Can it subordinate individual ambition to collective rules? Can it build durable party structures, via transparent internal elections instead of selection and imposition by transient political interests? The Jury, at best, is still out on these.
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In Imo State, political history demonstrates that parties often falter not because of external pressures, but because of the undue concentration of influence in the hands of a few, whose tolerance for competition is limited. In my considered opinion, early signs within the Imo ADC suggest the need for vigilance: internal debate and contestation, which are vital for credibility and grassroots confidence, must not be allowed to wither under the weight of informal authority. Imo politics has repeatedly shown that when power is personalized, institutions weaken, ambition becomes transactional, and reformist energy is stifled. For the ADC to avoid repeating these patterns, it must actively commit to institute internal democracy, ensure open and transparent candidate selection, and make it unmistakably clear that no single individual’s influence can override the collective voice of the party. Internal party democracy thrives on plurality of ideas and candidates. The soul of our party depends on it.
In another essay which was published on the Online edition of the Guardian Newspaper of July 18, 2025, following the inauguration of the ADC coalition, with the title “Kudos for African Democratic Congress” the author sermonized that the rise or fall of this party is a function of its leadership. I now reiterate the same. The party leadership must always be mindful of the fact that leadership does not translate to power and that party allegiance cannot be ordered into existence; it must be patiently won. Leadership is not access to power. Leadership in not rhetoric, either. It is infrastructure and infrastructure is defined in-terms of the ability to galvanize the electorate, period.
The sobering lesson from the PDP’s implosion is clear: parties collapse when they normalize impunity, candidate imposition, contempt for grassroots participation and manipulation of party organs. These are not accidental failures, they are deliberate choices. If the ADC could consistently make different choices, it could redefine opposition politics, particularly in Imo State and offer a genuine pathway toward democratic renewal.
In conclusion, I make bold to state that, the above insights are offered with a view to strengthening constitutional compliance within our party’s firmaments.
•Dr. Izuogu writes from Nkwerre, Imo State.
