A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Salihu Lukman, has warned the opposition coalition that it may fail to present a strong challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if it does not address its internal struggles.

Speaking via a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, Lukman warned that the internal struggles for control of the party’s structures could undermine its effectiveness ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He lamented that some stakeholders in the opposition appear to be working for their own personal interests, rather than a collective purpose.

Lukman pleaded with former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to stop encouraging what he described as the madness of aspiring candidates.

The former member of the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) applauded the progress made in forming a coalition, but urged party leaders to realign with the ADC’s primary purpose to ensure its relevance in the next electoral cycle.

He said, “Unfortunately, instead of working to build the party, we are setting ourselves to produce a party whose business will be limited to presenting candidates for elections. People with ambition to contest elections have become restless and want to dominate the process of developing the structures of the party to the exclusion of their opponents.

“The madness of controlling the structures of ADC is the biggest threat before us. For whatever reason, those of us who want the ADC to be an equal opportunity party are being condemned. Sadly, some of our leaders, instead of providing fair leadership, are taking sides with strengthening aspiring candidates for the 2027 elections across the state to the exclusion of others.

“I want to use the opportunity of this independence anniversary to appeal to all of us to stop this madness of trying to take over structures of ADC and control it to the exclusion of so-called opponents.”

Lukman, who was particularly concerned about the leadership rat race in the Kaduna State chapter of the party, cautioned that the development, if not quickly checked, is capable of tearing apart the party in the state, even before the general elections

He said, “If ADC is to emerge as a strong party capable of defeating the APC in Kaduna State, we must agree to work together. Anybody who is not ready to work as part of a united opposition in Kaduna State is consciously or unconsciously working for the APC.

“I am making this strong appeal with a very deep feeling of disappointment that we are recklessly mismanaging an opportunity to provide the needed leadership to our people. In particular, I want to appeal to Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Mal. Jaafaru Sani and Alh. Bashir Saidu, as an opposition leader in Kaduna State to please stop encouraging the madness of aspiring candidates seeking to take over structures of ADC to the exclusion of so-called opponents.”