•Coalition leaders gathered in Abuja yesterday
The spokesperson of the opposition coalition, Bolaji Abdullahi, has explained why members of the group selected the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their political platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abdullahi, who was a guest on Channels Television last night, stated that the choice was driven by the party’s openness to reform and alignment with the coalition’s shared values and vision.
“When we started this journey, we had a list of options, parameters, and conditionalities — the kind of party we were looking for. Those from the APC said no, because the founding principles that led to the formation of the APC had been betrayed.
“Those from the PDP said the party, once a political behemoth, has lost its way. Labour Party members also expressed regret over their past experiences. So everyone agreed that if we’re going forward, we must have a set of agreed-upon principles.
“Any party we engage with must allow us to restructure it in line with our vision. Unfortunately, there’s hardly any political party today that embodies that discipline and structure — not even like the parties of the First and Second Republics,” he said.
Abdullahi stressed that the ADC, while not a perfect fit, presented a unique opportunity for reform.
“We found a party that is amenable to the kind of reform we had in mind. If you say it’s weak like clay because it can be moulded into a pot, then yes. That’s why we adopted it.”
Nobody’s Coalition
Responding to criticism that the coalition is being dominated by political veterans, Abdullahi said, “This is nobody’s coalition. David Mark will be sitting in a coalition — not as a front for Atiku. It is a coalition of people.”
He added that the former Senate President [David Mark] was chosen as interim national chairman because “he is someone everybody has universal confidence in. We’ve done the party-of-big-men model before, and it didn’t work”.
On the current state of governance, Abdullahi criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bolaji said, “Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda has become hopeless. Nigeria is sliding to a one-party state where no opposition is allowed to survive.”
He also took a swipe at critics of the coalition, stating, “The coalition has been in the works for over 18 months.
“Then suddenly, these kinds of people are crawling out of dark corners, saying we are taking over. Where were they all along?”
One of such critics is Dumebi Kachikwu, ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, who also appeared on the programme.
He described members of the coalition as “enemies of Nigeria” and accused them of seeking to drag the nation backward.
“They are enemies of progress. Nigerians can no longer be fooled. What you saw in that hall were ‘former’ this and ‘former’ that: former vice president, former governors, former ministers.
“These are the same people who have ruled Nigeria for four decades. Where are we today? Eighty per cent of the population is poor, and now they pretend to be the fire brigade trying to put out the fire they started,” Kachikwu said.
The ex-presidential candidate also accused the coalition of hijacking the party illegitimately.
“They came through the back door. I’m opposed to viruses and bacteria entering my party. People who destroyed Nigeria cannot fix it,” he said.
Kachikwu maintained that Ralph Nwosu, who handed over the party leadership to the coalition, has no authority to do so.
“His tenure lapsed two years ago. There’s been no convention to amend that. The constitution of the ADC is clear — you must have been a member for at least two years to hold office. This interim leadership is fraudulent.”
He said he and other legitimate members would write to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for clarification on the matter.
Coalition Meeting
Earlier yesterday, leaders of the coalition convened at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where they formally adopted the ADC as their platform to challenge the APC in 2027.
The event saw Ralph Nwosu hand over the party’s membership card to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, who were introduced as the interim national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
Prominent figures in attendance included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party’s Peter Obi; former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi; and other political stakeholders such as Dino Melaye, Dele Momodu, Solomon Dalung, Senator Gabriel Suswam, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Emeka Ihedioha, and retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Several politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) also participated in the meeting.
