Opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said that the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to begin talks about zoning their 2027 presidential tickets two years before the election showed they don’t care about addressing the plights of Nigerians.
“The general election is still in 2027; it’s still two years away,” ADC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, said on Channels Television today.
“Why are we so preoccupied and behaving in such a way that Nigerians begin to look at the political elite across the political divides that we don’t care about them?” he queried.
Yesterday, the PDP at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja zoned the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the southern region of Nigeria, and retained its chairmanship in the north.
Earlier in May, 22 governors of the ruling APC and some powerful organs of the ruling party adopted President Bola Tinubu, who is a southerner, as the sole candidate of the party for the 2027 election.
Both the PDP and the APC said their decisions aligned with the eight-year unwritten rule of power rotation between the southern and northern regions of the country.
However, the ADC coalition with members like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Labour Party flag bearer Peter Obi and ex-minister Rotimi Amaechi, faulted the decision of the APC and, of late, the PDP.
ADC spokesman Abdullahi said the PDP was playing a game. “Why are they taking the decision two years before the general election?” he asked.
“They are very experienced people, and they know the implications of showing their way too early. So, it’s either they are playing the predetermined game or batting some people to come around because they’ve been shopping around for who to be the presidential candidate of the party,” he stated.
Abdullahi said the ADC has several qualified persons who have shown interest in running for president on its platform and is not insufficient of potential flag bearer.
“When people say that the coalition was put together for a particular candidate running elections, in the papers yesterday, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came out to say he is going to run for president.
“So, if this whole thing was put together for him, why would he need to come out to say he is running for president. Don’t forget we still have the likes of Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and others who are interested in running, and we have reiterated that they have an equal chance,” he said.
‘ADC Not Under Pressure’
Abdullahi said the ADC was not bothered by the decision of the PDP and the APC but focused on consolidating its newly formed union.
He said, “We are not bothered with what the PDP has done. They know the game they are playing. Nigerians can see right into it. PDP people are not naïve people; they are very experienced politicians.
“So, for them to take that decision two years ahead of the presidential election, there must be a game on and we can see right through it. So, we are not bothered, we are not pressured, we are focused on our party.
“We believe there are still two parties in Nigeria now – APC, the ruling party, and ADC, the main opposition coalition.”
The ADC spokesman said the coalition has not begun talks about the zoning of the party but would do so when the time was ripe.
“The decision is ADC’s decision, and at the right time, we are going to take that decision. What is most important to us is to convince Nigerians that we represent that alternative that can bring respite to their current sufferings,” he said.
Abdullahi said the ADC has not commenced talks about the 2027 presidency zoning ticket.
“As far as the ADC is concerned, we are not having that kind of conversation now; we are not having conversations about zoning, where the president will come from and where it will not come from.
“The coalition moved into the ADC about two months ago, and there is so much work to do in building the party, especially mobilising the people at the grassroots level and putting up structures,” he said.
