2027 Election: ADC Reveals When It Will Finalize Talks On Coalition

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Sunday said that the discussions regarding the proposed opposition coalition are expected to be finalised within the next one to two weeks.

Reports indicate that the ADC has been selected as the platform through which the coalition will participate in the 2027 presidential election.

Addressing the coalition talks on Sunday, the National Chairman of the ADC, Ralphs Okey Nwosu, stated that various committees established by the party have engaged with the parties involved in the discussions.

He mentioned that a concluding meeting will involve civil society, citizens’ groups, and key stakeholders to finalise the decision.

“ADC started a process 16 months ago, and what we have been doing is ensuring that, beyond all the political talks among political leaders, we needed to touch the grassroots, because the situation in the country will either one day call for a citizens’ revolt or a patriots’ coalition,” Nwosu said.

Stressing that well-meaning Nigerians and patriots well regard the ADC as a viable coalition platform, Nwosu said: “You cannot discuss leadership, political or otherwise, in Nigeria in isolation.”

Noting that committees had to be set up to engage with the people, Nwosu said the party’s politics is about transformation and inclusion.

“The conversations are in three folds. As National Chairman and Chairman of the National Consultative Organ dealing with citizens and some patriots, my job is different.

“Bamidele Jamilu Jade, one of the Deputy National Chairmen, is coordinating some arms of the political parties. Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmad is also engaging stakeholders in political parties.

“So what I can tell you, as the Chairman, is what we have done with the citizens and civil organisations,” the ADC chieftain said.

Nwosu confirmed that the committees had met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

“They have met many more. They have met Rotimi Amaechi, and almost all those who ran for President in 2023, either as aspirants or candidates. Ahmad has also met with all the political parties,” he disclosed.

Speaking further, Nwosu dismissed the suggestion that the ADC would merely serve as a multipurpose vehicle for ambitious politicians seeking to win elections.

“At a summit at Arewa House in Kaduna last year, we made it clear that any politician who thinks ADC is a ‘molue’ for getting to where they want to go, a multipurpose vehicle, must think again. That mentality is what has made political parties the weakest link in our democratic chain.

“That is wrong, because the weakest link cannot produce the kind of leaders that can bring about the transformation we desire. ADC is certainly not that vehicle,” he said.

Commenting on the zoning of the coalition’s presidential ticket for the 2027 election, the ADC National Chairman said stakeholders are still meeting and proper decisions will be taken in due course.

Continuing, Nwosu noted that while the party is not parochial in its decisions, it remains mindful of the sentiments expressed by the people.

“Being the national chairman of a large coalition in formation, I’ve also heard from many youth groups who say, ‘You know it’s the turn of the South.’

“They made that point, but one day, we were taken aback when some young people came and said, ‘We talk about equity in Nigeria, but since this democracy began, the North has done 11 years and the South has done 17 years.’

“They said if the South were to take another four years after Tinubu’s first term, it would bring the tally to 22 years for the South, compared to 11 years for the North.

“You know, in Nigeria, we sometimes say we don’t want the dichotomy of ethnicity and religion, yet we perpetuate it in most political parties. You’ll see positions like Deputy Chairman (North), Deputy Chairman (South).

“In some of these practices, if you want to erase certain divisions, you stop reinforcing them.

“In ADC, for instance, we don’t operate with designations like North or South. That creates the dichotomy we seek to avoid.

“What we have are Deputy National Chairmen based on function. When you go through our DNA and the things we do, we have already shared our materials with the coalition leaders because we must chart a new course,” he added.