African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi has explained why leading opposition leaders, such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, have not officially left their parties even though they have joined the new ADC coalition.
According to reports, Abdullahi gave the explanation during his appearance on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Thursday. He mentioned that a number of well-known politicians are presently participating in ongoing electoral processes that are planned in advance of the general elections in 2027.
According to Abdullahi, who explicitly cited Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor and his political organization are currently supporting people running for office under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and have already bought nomination forms on the platform.
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Abdullahi stated, “These parties are involved in elections that are scheduled before 2027, and individuals such as Mallam Nasir El-Rufai have his group involved in those elections.” Thus, they have purchased forms on those parties’ platforms.
Allowing them to contest on the basis of those parties is just logical. In theory, everyone is in ADC once they have finished that.
Abdullahi maintained that the coalition’s goal is to keep Nigeria from devolving into what he called a “one-party civilian dictatorship,” regardless of individual members’ existing allegiance.
“We can clearly see what we are doing,” he stated. This coalition includes everyone who feels that Nigeria cannot be boiled down to a one-party state.
“Anyone who disagrees with that can start to complain about it, and we should watch as Nigeria turns into a one-party civilian dictatorship.”
Although the coalition’s road to 2027 will be paved with difficulties, the former minister insisted that the group was ready for the task.
We don’t believe the journey will be easy. We anticipate a rocky ride, but we’re prepared to handle it,” he said.
