Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the African Democratic Congress has revealed that state governors are hesitant to join the opposition coalition platform formed to challenge President Bola Tinubu due to alleged intimidation.
The ADC’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made this known on Saturday during the 3rd Expanded Meeting of the National Political Consultative Group (North), held in Abuja.
He described the alleged acts of intimidation as a conspiracy against the Nigerian people.
On July 1, key opposition figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, APC’s 2023 presidential aspirant Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai launched the ADC as a unified opposition platform to confront Tinubu in 2027.
Although former Senate President David Mark and former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola were appointed as the party’s interim National Chairman and Secretary respectively, and a few Nigerians have since aligned with the party, no sitting governor has joined.
Abdullahi attributed this hesitation to fear, stating that some governors are aligning with President Tinubu to avoid being intimidated.
He stated, “We don’t need to particularly target any serving governor. We know that no serving governor will want to come to us now because of the kind of intimidation that they are facing.
“We know what they are doing to them. Some of them who cannot jump to their party (APC) are saying we are endorsing their presidential candidate (President Tinubu). No problem.
“But what you are seeing is a conspiracy against the Nigerian people. The ADC welcomes everybody, but we are convinced that we are a movement that has the backing of the majority of Nigerians who are not happy with the direction this country is going.”
The ADC’s interim National Publicity Secretary stated that the party was not established to serve anyone’s personal ambition and emphasized that it remains free from any form of hijack.
The former Minister of Youth and Sport stated, “No, ADC is not going to be hijack. You see, the process for the building of the party ensures that the party does not coalesce around any individual.
“And like I repeatedly emphasised, the ADC is not built for anybody’s ambition. ADC is a party that is determined to give a different trajectory to Nigerian politics. We don’t have any predetermined agenda. We don’t have any favourite aspirant or candidate.
“We are not having any conversation at the moment. Nobody has ever had any conversation about who will be the party’s flag bearer. We believe that it is too early in the day. Our focus now is to build a political party that is strong enough to deliver on the mission that we have set for ourselves.”
Abdullahi explained that the National Political Consultative Group (North) convened the meeting to address and find solutions to challenges facing the Northern region, noting that a similar gathering is planned for the Southern region.
He stated, “As you see, it’s the Northern Consultative Group of the African Democratic Congress. It’s a meeting of our region, the northern region, the north of Nigeria, to discuss situations in the north, especially the issue of insecurity, the issue of how we can strengthen unity in the north.
“There are similar meetings in the south, there are similar meetings for the southeast, all coalesced under the African Democratic Congress. So this particular meeting today is for the Northern part of Nigeria.
“And like I said, it’s for the purpose of getting briefings from all the states to know what the issues are, what the challenges are, and the progress we are making in terms of building this coalition.”
