ADC, a coalition of desperados – Presidency

In what seems to be an expected reaction in the normal Nigeria policy, the Presidency says Wednesday’s unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the new platform for Nigeria’s 2027 opposition coalition, is a gathering of “desperados hungry for power” and motivated by self-interest rather than national progress.

In a statement, after opposition leaders convened on the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja for the official launch of the coalition, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, dismissed the event as a “charade” .

He further dismissed its participants as failed politicians seeking relevance.

“These politicians are desperados, hungry for power, not for the benefit of Nigerians but for themselves. They want power at all costs because they cannot endure another four years in the political wilderness or be banished to political winter and irrelevance,” he emphasized.

Onanuga also noted that many of the individuals paraded at the ADC launch had long abandoned the APC or were no longer relevant within the ruling party,revealing that former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi had effectively exited the party in 2022 following his loss at the presidential primary to President Tinubu, while Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation, had distanced himself from the APC after failing in his governorship ambition in Kebbi State.

The presidential spokesperson also ridiculed the presence of Hadi Sirika, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Imam and former APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie Oyegun, describing them as disillusioned figures with no remaining influence in the APC,

He therefore warned Nigerians not to be deceived by what he described as a coalition without ideology or a clear agenda.

“My advice to Nigerians: keep your eyes wide open. A political party with no clear agenda or ideology—whose members are united only by their hatred for President Tinubu—cannot be good for our country. It will only set us back by decades.”

Onanuga expressed confidence that the coalition would inevitably disintegrate due to what he called the “irreconcilable personal and political ambitions” of its members.

Recall, the formal launch of the official opposition platform attracted the presence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi,

The gathering also had former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, both of whom were announced as the interim National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, respectively.