The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) was an opposition
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, created and first registered in March 2006. In September 2006, in merged into the newly (2005) formed
Action Congress. The ACD was primarily composed of former
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to:
* People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
*People's Democratic Party (Belize)
*People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)
*People's Democratic Party (Chile)
* People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
members, and was one of a series of anti-
Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
coalitions, beginning with the
Movement for the Defence of Democracy in 2005, and followed by the AC in 2006/2007. It maintained a small independent organization after the 2007 elections, while its leaders have merged into the AC.
The party was formed by opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow incumbent
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
to seek a third term in office, and had its base of support in the south west of Nigeria.
The then
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Atiku Abubakar, a northerner who opposed a third term for Obasanjo, was believed to back the new party from its inception.
The ACD was largely made up of disgruntled PDP members who felt they had lost power and patronage to the President's supporters. Attempts by the President's supporters to amend the constitutional two term limit, allowing President Obasanjo to continue in office for a further four years, led to a rupture of the underlying tension within the party.
Three of the founders of the ACD, Alhaji
Lawal Kaita, Alhaji
Bashir Dalhatu
Bashir Dalhatu (born 12 November 1949), titled Wazirin Dutse, is a Nigerian Chieftaincy, Nigerian aristocrat and statesman.
Biography
Bashir Dalhatu was born in Dutse on November 12, 1949. He attended Rumfa College, Kano from 1963 to 1967. In 19 ...
and
Audu Ogbeh
Audu Innocent Ogbeh (born 28 July 1947) is a Nigerian politician who was chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from 2001 until January 2005. He is the former Minister of Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 2015–2019.
...
, are former PDP politicians, and have complained of harassment and detention by the government since the ACD's founding. In March, ACD chair Alhaji Lawal Kaita, the former PDP governor of
Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...
state was detained shortly after a party rally was shut down by police in
Dutse,
Jigawa
Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...
State.
The Vice President, who had previously shown no interest in running for president, was in 2006 the main focus of these former PDP politicians. He was widely expected to be a future Presidential candidate of the ACD.
In September 2006, the ACD led the creation of a coalition with the
Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, and several other minor political parties, and forming the
Action Congress.
Daily Sun, ''Action Congress: A tale of parallel secretariats''
: October 14, 2006. Atiku Abubakar was its presidential candidate in the 2007 General Election.
References
{{Reflist
ACD Party Website
Nigeria Electoral Commission, Party information
April 29, 2006.
July 19, 2006.
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071009231508/http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/march06/21032006/f221032006.html ''Arrest of ACD Leader'', 2006
BBC News: ''Thousands launch Nigerian party''
Defunct political parties in Nigeria
2006 establishments in Nigeria
Political parties established in 2006
Political parties with year of disestablishment missing