A Slip or Signal? Oyegun’s APC Chant Sparks Confusion at ADC’s Convention

At a political gathering meant to project unity, words did the opposite. This incident involved the man currently chairing the Policy and Programme Committee of the African Democratic Congress (ADC): John Odigie-Oyegun. He stepped up to the podium at the ADC convention and opened with a loud “APC.” The hall reacted before he even finished the sentence.

Odigie-Oyegun corrected himself almost immediately. “No, no, no… did I say APC? The devil is a liar,” he said, drawing laughter and scattered applause. Then came a lighter line about needing something strong to clear his system of the old party name. The room moved on quickly, but the moment did not.

Readers may remember that Oyegun once chaired the APC at its founding stage, a role that made the slip easy to understand for some attendees. Others read more into it, treating it as a political message hiding inside an error.

The reaction split along familiar lines. One view called it a habit. Old names tend to surface when political memory runs deep. Another view treated it with suspicion, pointing to shifting loyalties in Nigeria’s party system, where movement between platforms is common and often strategic.

It pays to remember that Oyegun’s current ADC role is a position tied to the party’s broader ambition heading into the next election cycle. And though his message at the event still focused on governance and criticism of current leadership, the chant became the headline, raising questions about discipline in a new political home, especially for figures with long histories in rival parties. Which is to be expected because in Nigerian politics, even a single word can sit under inspection longer than an entire speech.

For now, the ADC has not issued any formal comment on the moment. The party continues its convention agenda, while the clip of the chant circulates with the usual mix of jokes, analysis, and suspicion that follows political missteps in Abuja and beyond.