ABUJA, NIGERIA — The African Democratic Congress has declared that it does not require a coalition with other opposition parties to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, asserting that its candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, possesses the political capital and grassroots appeal to secure victory without external alliances.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, made the declaration on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, delivering what amounted to a definitive statement of intent from a party that had once been at the centre of an ambitious but ultimately fractured opposition realignment.
“We are going to win. We don’t need a coalition to win this election. The African Democratic Congress does not need a coalition to win this election,” Abdullahi said with characteristic directness. He acknowledged that a broad-based coalition could make the party’s task easier, but insisted it was not a prerequisite for success. “If we are able to build the kind of coalition that we started to build, maybe to make our job easier, but we don’t need that coalition. We don’t necessarily need the coalition to win the election.”
The ADC spokesman expressed unwavering confidence that Atiku Abubakar could defeat President Tinubu single-handedly. “I believe so, and that’s our thinking, and that’s what we are working on,” he stated. He argued that the former vice president remains the most prepared candidate with a national spread, private sector experience, and a clear economic blueprint, qualities he said Nigerians are desperately seeking after three years of the Tinubu administration.
“The experience of Nigerians in the last three years has pushed people to the extent that they are saying that anybody but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Abdullahi said, pointing to growing discontent over economic hardship, inflation, and the handling of the fuel subsidy removal. He also clarified Atiku’s position on the subsidy issue, saying the ADC candidate never supported abrupt removal without safeguards. “Atiku promised to stop the present fuel subsidy removal because it was done without palliatives, without refineries working, and without cushioning the poor,” he explained, adding that the ADC candidate plans to first fix local refineries, stabilise the naira, and provide targeted support before any deregulation.
The comments come against the backdrop of a spectacularly ambitious but ultimately incomplete opposition realignment that began in 2025. Opposition heavyweights, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, among others, came together and adopted the relatively low-profile ADC as a joint platform to present a united challenge to Tinubu and the APC in 2027. The coalition was formally unveiled with Mark as interim national chairman and Aregbesola as national secretary. However, the project did not pan out as expected, with internal disagreements leading to fractures that saw Obi and former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso later exit the ADC and join the Nigeria Democratic Congress, where both are running for presidency and vice-presidency respectively.
Abdullahi acknowledged the changed political landscape, noting that while a broad opposition alliance could strengthen the party’s chances, it was not a prerequisite for victory. He said discussions among opposition parties were continuing, but the focus had shifted from producing a single presidential candidate to identifying areas where parties could work together. “The conversation is not about how do we produce a single presidential candidate. The conversations predominantly are about what areas of cooperation is possible,” he said, citing election monitoring and protecting votes as potential areas of collaboration.
The ADC spokesperson also challenged the government to a debate on its proposal to restore fuel subsidy, saying Nigerians deserved to hear arguments on the issue. “We have said we will bring subsidy back,” Abdullahi said, adding that the ADC was willing to debate the issue with the APC. “I’m not an economist. You have your economists. We have our economists. Bring the spokesperson of the APC. Let us debate this subsidy issue because that is what Nigerians want to hear.”
As the 2027 election cycle gathers momentum, the ADC’s declaration marks a significant moment in Nigeria’s political landscape, signalling that the party is prepared to go it alone even as other opposition forces explore alternative alliances. Whether Atiku Abubakar can indeed defeat President Tinubu without the backing of a united opposition remains to be seen, but the ADC has made its position unequivocally clear: it is ready to fight and win on its own terms.
