National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Seriake Dickson, has brought together former leaders and founding members of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) for the first such reunion in about 27 years.

The gathering, held on Saturday, featured prominent members of the former political party, including Chief Michael Odurinde, who served as Senior Special Adviser to late Afenifere leader and AD founding figure, Pa Ayo Adebanjo.

Dickson, who was a founding state chairman of the AD before becoming its National Legal Adviser, said the meeting was intended to reconnect former colleagues, strengthen longstanding relationships and reflect on Nigeria’s democratic journey since the return to civilian rule.

He said many of those present had served as his mentors, colleagues and political leaders during the country’s transition to the Fourth Republic in 1998 and 1999.

The senator said the reunion was not organised to discuss a political alliance between the former AD members and the NDC, stressing that it was primarily an opportunity to reconnect and celebrate their shared history.

Participants also observed a minute of silence in honour of prominent figures associated with the movement who have died, including Chief Bola Ige, Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Abraham Adesanya.

Dickson said the contributions and sacrifices of the late leaders remained an important part of the history of Nigeria’s democratic development.

A former National Secretary of the AD, Professor Udenta Udenta, similarly dismissed speculation that the gathering was aimed at reviving the defunct party or immediately forming a political coalition.

Udenta noted that although the AD no longer exists as a political platform, many of its former members remain active in Nigeria’s political and civic space.

He described the AD as an ideologically driven party rooted in civic engagement and progressive politics, contrasting it with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he characterised as a political vehicle primarily established to secure power.

Udenta acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu was once a member of the AD and credited his administration as Lagos governor with notable achievements under the party’s platform, while leaving Nigerians to assess the performance of governments under the APC.

The former AD secretary maintained that the reunion was a gathering of former colleagues rather than a partisan meeting, ruling out any immediate coalition involving the NDC.

The Alliance for Democracy emerged during Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule and became strongly associated with progressive politics in the South-West. Its prominent figures included Bola Ige, Ayo Adebanjo and Abraham Adesanya.

Several members of the party later joined other political platforms following its decline, making Saturday’s gathering an opportunity for former members to revisit their political history and the evolution of Nigeria’s democracy since 1999.