The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has appealed to Nigerians not to judge the party based on its poor outing in the August 16 by-elections across 16 constituencies.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won 12 out of the 16 seats contested in nine states. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured two seats in Anambra, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won one in Oyo and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) claimed one in Kano. The ADC, however, failed to win any.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, ADC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi explained that the party’s poor performance should be seen in context.

“For us, the election happened less than a month after we came into the party. Most of the candidates, we didn’t even know, and that’s why we said we cannot judge the ADC by that,” Abdullahi said.

He stressed that the party was still in a transition phase, trying to set up its leadership structures when the elections were conducted.

“The by-election you talked about happened too early in terms of transition for the party. So, we don’t want to be judged by the outcome of that election. Other elections are coming, and we will be ready for those,” he added.

The ADC maintained that while the by-election results were disappointing, they do not reflect the party’s true potential as it prepares to reposition itself ahead of future polls.