The spokesman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Bolaji Abdullahi, has said the party has stabilised following the exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Mr Abdullahi disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
He insisted that the ADC remains committed to building a strong opposition coalition aimed at reversing what he described as Nigeria’s worsening governance crisis.
While speaking on the departure of the two opposition heavyweights, Mr Abdullahi admitted that the development came as a surprise to the party but stressed that the ADC had since moved forward.
“On the issue of people leaving our party, especially the bigwigs as you called them—His Excellency Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—yes, of course, it came to us a little bit as a surprise, but I think we’ve moved on from that. It was a glitch, and not the fine kind of glitch, I must say.
“But we’ve moved on from that; we’ve stabilised, and we’re moving forward because the objective is the same: how do we stop the steady deterioration of governance in our country, and how do we strengthen multi-party democracy in our country?” he said.
According to him, despite the defections, the ADC still believes that a broad opposition coalition remains achievable, noting that only a united front can effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of future elections.
“The vision of building a big coalition of opposition political parties is still a possibility within the dynamics that we are presented with because we are convinced that a unified opposition stands a better chance of challenging for power, especially when faced with the kind of incumbency that we are faced with,” he stated.
He acknowledged that the inability of major opposition figures to unite under one platform represented a setback for the wider coalition effort, although he maintained that it was not enough to derail plans to build a formidable alliance against the APC.
“It is not a setback for the ADC in particular but a setback for the opposition coalition—the kind of coalition we’re trying to build, not specifically the ADC. Because once you have a three or four-horse race against the incumbent, it’s always an advantage to the incumbent. But like I said, it may have been a setback, but it’s not a fatal blow to the work that we are trying to do because the objective remains the same and we are not wavering on that,” he added.
The ADC spokesman further expressed optimism that opposition parties could still agree on a single presidential candidate capable of challenging the incumbent administration in 2027, saying discussions among stakeholders were still ongoing despite recent political realignments and defections.
“Ultimately, our hope and our expectation is that we will all still be able to find a way to work together. When we left Ibadan a couple of weeks ago, we said we’re going to present a common presidential candidate—a single presidential candidate against the ruling party. Conversation is still possible in that direction because the objective—if we are all committed to the same thing, if we all believe genuinely that this is why we’re doing what we’re doing, which is to stem the steady deterioration of the quality of life that we are seeing and the misgovernance of the ruling party—then it’s still possible for us to reach across and have that conversation,” Abdullahi stressed.
On the issue of zoning, Abdullahi said the ADC would approach the matter from a strategic perspective rather than merely a political or moral standpoint.
“On the issue of zoning, for us in the African Democratic Congress, it’s not about whether it’s the principled thing to do. We find ourselves in a peculiar situation as an opposition party, and the decision we are going to take will be strategic rather than trying to be politically correct at this time.
“We are going to assess the field, look at our options, and determine what gives us the strategic advantage and opportunity to effectively challenge for power,” he said.
