In order to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will be the main coalition party, according to sources from the camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and other influential political figures.
Due to a lack of official sanction, many people close to Atiku and Obi’s camps told Punch that a meeting on Tuesday night was a major milestone in the continuing coalition attempts. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
At this meeting, the leaders of the coalition decided to make ADC the focal point of their political partnership.
The insiders also said that in anticipation of the 2027 election, ADC was already undergoing a reorganization and strengthening process, with formal announcements of the changes anticipated in the days ahead.
In a statement at an event on Wednesday, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai confirmed the meeting, saying that coalition leaders met at 8 p.m. on Tuesday to finalize important choices that will bring President Tinubu down in 2027.
Making sure Tinubu returns to Lagos by the next general election is the coalition’s main goal, El-Rufai emphasized.
In an interview with Punch, ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu also affirmed that the party is presently speaking with Atiku, Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State, and other political leaders about forming a coalition. The goal of these talks is to fortify opposition unity in the run-up to the 2027 election.
In an interview with Punch, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretary Ajibola Basiru criticized the opposition alliance in response to the coalition’s increasing traction, referring to President Tinubu as the “true father of all coalitions.”
Atiku, Obi, and other coalition leaders, Basiru proposed, are doomed to lose the 2027 election.
A alliance to challenge President Tinubu in 2027 was openly announced by Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, and other political leaders on March 20.
Divergent views on the coalition’s prospects and approach resulted from the announcement, which generated intense discussion regarding the possibility of opposition unity.
Punch was informed by a source on Tuesday that both parties are considering the ADC as their coalition platform, and Peter Obi is conferring with his supporters to determine whether to accept Atiku’s offer of the vice presidential post.
The coalition leaders from the Obi and Atiku camps convened last night in Abuja to examine all the issues and the main parties, he said. They concluded after their talks that the ADC ought to serve as the primary platform for the coalition.
“They decided that if ADC is announced as the main coalition platform in the coming days, they will come up with a plan for an alliance between ADC, SDP, and other platforms, even though some of the leaders, like El-Rufai and others, are already in the Social Democratic Party.
There are plans to alter the party’s National Leadership and Board of Trustees, and I am aware that funds have already been set aside to restructure the ADC. In the days to come, these adjustments will be made public.
Nevertheless, they have decided to make the party the main forum for coalition nationalists. Their supporters have been informed and are getting ready to join the party and assist in its reform.
Regardless of their geopolitical provenance, the coalition leaders decided to guarantee an equal playing field for all, according to another source.
According to him, the camps decided to use the ADC as their platform at their meeting yesterday night. Despite ongoing consideration, no final decision has been reached about the proposal for a vice-presidential position and a one-term President.
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“Therefore, they decided that the ADC’s coalition efforts will guarantee a fair and impartial environment for all competitors, particularly those vying for the presidency, irrespective of their geography.”
“The coalition’s goal is to defeat President Tinubu and ensure his return to Lagos in 2027,” El-Rufai said, confirming the meeting.
The former Kaduna State Governor stated in a video uploaded on the 𝕏 account @AbdulRasheeth on Wednesday that the meeting’s specifics will be revealed in the days ahead.
El-Rufai said, “Yesterday at 8 p.m., there was a very important meeting of the coalition we are building to ensure that President Tinubu returns to Lagos,” obviously indicating the challenges he had to overcome before being able to attend the Katsina event.
We’ll give you more information later, but I had to be at the meeting at 8 p.m.
The ADC National Chairman said that party chieftains tasked with the assignment had been engaging in talks with other coalition leaders, but he denied knowing about the meeting yesterday.
Speaking with Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and others, Nwosu disclosed that the ADC has been in discussions and expressed confidence that they can successfully rescue Nigeria if they work together.
The National Chairman of the ADC said, “I am aware of the meeting that several coalition leaders are attending with ADC chieftains. In addition to this election, ADC has been engaged in coalition talks for several years.
But in regards to this election, we are speaking with patriots, political parties, and other interested parties. The public will be informed—not over months, but within days—whatever the outcome of our negotiations is.
In our capacity as National Chairman, we established a committee to do this. In order to save this nation, our committees are interacting with all patriots. We’re not just talking to Atiku, I can assure you of that. We are also interacting with Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, and numerous others.
“Committed nationalists and leaders of political parties are in talks with us. In our opinion, we can deliver this nation if they all cooperate.
Nwosu brushed aside a query about whether Atiku, Obi, and other coalition leaders wanted him and Mani Ibrahim, the chairman of the board of trustees, to go in order to restructure the ADC as conjecture.
He did stress, though, that they are prepared to give up anything in order to save Nigeria.
“That’s speculation,” he concluded. But I can promise you that we are all fully committed to saving the country and that I am prepared to make any and all sacrifices. Whatever sacrifices are necessary to advance this nation, we are prepared to make them.
There is more than one or two sides to this national rescue discussion. It is taking place among important groupings, civil society organizations, and political parties.
To make this happen, ADC is prepared to provide whatever assistance is required. For a rescue effort, we have assembled the party.
In an interview with Punch, Paul Ibe, Atiku’s media adviser, discussed the coalition and said numerous personalities and political parties are taking part.
“I am not aware of that, to be completely honest with you,” he remarked. What I don’t know, I can’t talk to. We are negotiating with political parties and patriots to save Nigeria, as far as I know.
This coalition includes all party leaders and stakeholders, according to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, and we must believe him when he says that there are no exceptions. A final decision has not yet been made.
We are proceeding with the political platform, and the public will be notified shortly. This movement of coalition initiatives is a pan-Nigerian one. Reclaiming and reconstructing the nation is the goal, and those who share that belief will be accommodated.
It’s where we are. Rebuilding Nigeria is a mission that our group is dedicated to fulfilling.
Obi and his followers continue to be members of the Labour Party, according to Peter Ahmehn, National Secretary of Coalition for United Political Parties.
I am aware that the coalition drive is still going on,” he remarked. I don’t have access to such information regarding yesterday’s meeting, though.
“Mr. Peter Obi, I, and the rest of our staff are dedicated to the Labour Party, as I declared to you. We are Labour Party members, and our purpose is to support and advance the party’s beliefs.
Nigerians will soon be updated on the effectiveness of the coalition’s activities, according to CUPP National Publicity Secretary Mark Adebayo.
In a Punch interview, Adebayo emphasized that Atiku, Obi, and other coalition leaders are dedicated to save Nigeria from President Tinubu’s failing APC government.
He said, “I can tell you that we are in the midst of ongoing discussions that are at their height right now. Nigerians would be notified about the platform and everything else soon.
“Opponents and coalition leaders will not be sidetracked. In actuality, they are committed to cooperating to free Nigeria from President Tinubu’s failing APC regime.
You will soon have access to all the information you require about the coalition movement. I promise that we will soon brief the country, even though we know that Nigerians are fed up with the APC and ready to hear from us.
Responding to the coalition’s decision in an exclusive interview with Punch, APC National Secretary Basiru said the former vice president and other opposition leaders would lose again in 2027 because their coalition is not led by the interests of Nigerians.
President Tinubu is the grandmaster of coalitions, he said, adding that they are not creating any. As a leader of the National Democratic Coalition, he helped form coalitions that contributed to the overthrow of the military.
How can they defeat the grandmaster of coalitions, then, using a coalition? We also have a lot of experience creating coalitions.
We were the first political party to establish a congress composed of prominent parties. Nigerians ought to be conscious that the falsehoods they spread regarding their victory in the 2023 election are now being exposed.
Basiru projected that the alliance leaders will lose the 2027 election and recommended Atiku, Obi, and others to rejoin their parties.
“Why are they discussing a coalition for 2027 if they really think they won the 2023 election?” said the national secretary of the APC. All they need to do is return to their political parties.
However, the fact remains that they lost the 2023 election, and with God’s help, they will also lose the 2027 election, with President Tinubu of the APC emerging victorious.
“Excessive ambition and a sense of entitlement are the driving forces behind this so-called arrangement or coalition, not love for Nigeria.”
