The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared its determination to redefine Nigeria’s political direction ahead of the 2027 general elections, pledging to offer people-focused governance anchored on compassion, practicality and accountability.
The party made this known on Monday in Abuja during the inauguration of its Policy and Manifesto Committee, an event it described as a critical milestone in its mission to rescue Nigeria from worsening socio-economic hardship.
Speaking at the ceremony, National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David A. B. Mark, said the country was in deep distress and urgently needed a new political narrative that places citizens at the centre of governance rather than policy experiments detached from reality.
According to him, the inauguration was not a routine party exercise but a strategic step towards providing Nigerians with credible alternatives to what he described as years of ineffective governance.
“Families are working harder and earning less. Food prices rise faster than wages can cope, power supply remains epileptic even as tariffs increase, and insecurity continues to disrupt social and economic life,” Mark said.
He argued that although poverty and hardship have always existed in Nigeria, the scale of suffering under the current administration has worsened, driven by policies that fail to consider the daily realities of citizens.
Mark stressed that Nigerians are no longer interested in political rhetoric, statistics or blame-shifting, but are desperate for policies that ease their pain and restore hope.
“Nigerians are not looking for clever arguments. They want policies and actions that show that government understands what they are going through and is prepared to act with clarity, courage and compassion,” he said.
The former Senate President lamented that Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of ideas but from the inability to connect ideas to reality, noting that many government policies remain academic exercises that do not translate into improved living conditions.
“Documents are produced, committees are set up, reports are written, yet nothing changes in the lives of the people, which is what matters most,” he added.
Using energy and fuel subsidy removal as examples, Mark questioned the logic of reforms that impose additional burdens on citizens without tangible benefits.
“The real question is whether people paying more for fuel, transportation, food and electricity can see improvements in other areas of their lives. Clearly, the answer is no,” he said, adding that the ADC must provide clear answers on what it would do differently.
He identified insecurity, food production, healthcare, education, transportation and job creation as priority areas that must be addressed holistically rather than in isolation.
“Insecurity is not just about loss of life. It is about abandoned farms, displaced communities, closed schools and an atmosphere of fear that suffocates economic activity,” Mark warned.
He also called for internal party safeguards to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of individuals, insisting that no matter how wealthy or influential, no single person should dominate the party.
“You are not here simply to generate proposals. You are here to ensure that every recommendation is practicable and reduces suffering, not merely rearranges it,” he told members of the committee.
In his acceptance speech, Chairman of the Policy and Manifesto Committee, Dr. John Oyegun, thanked the party leadership for the confidence reposed in the committee, describing the assignment as both an honour and a heavy responsibility.
Oyegun said the committee would adopt Mark’s speech as a guiding framework, stressing that governance under the ADC would not be “business as usual.”
“What you have asked us to do is to develop policies and a manifesto that ordinary Nigerians can identify with and see how they fit into their daily lives,” he said.
He criticised decades of governance failures, noting that despite massive public spending, Nigerians cannot point to a single sector where problems have been meaningfully resolved.
“You cannot confidently say we have stable electricity, affordable transportation or real security. There is a lot of movement and noise, but no real improvement in the lives of the people,” Oyegun stated.
The former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress warned against the culture where party manifestos are abandoned once power is secured, promising that the ADC would resist what he described as a “contractor-governed system.”
Oyegun assured that the committee would work to ensure ADC governments remain accountable to the people and do not become detached from those who elected them.
Some of the committee members present at the inauguration in former APC Vice Chairman North Hon. Salihu Lukman, former Deputy governor of Kogi State Hon.Simon Achuba as well as members of the party’s National Working Committee.
