The Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Tukur Mohammed-Baba, has expressed disappointment over the brewing crisis within the emerging political coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Naijaonpoint reports that Mohammed-Baba, speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, described the coalition as dead on arrival.
He stated that the coalition is more focused on personalities than presenting a coherent policy programme and ways to restore national institutions, revitalise the economy, and promote inclusion.
Mohammed-Baba warned that the coalition’s focus on political figures rather than substantive policy proposals was disappointing and risked alienating voters.
According to him, the allegations of infiltration by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were in line with Nigeria’s political history.
He noted that Nigeria’s political history has been marked by shifting alliances and fragile coalitions, citing examples from the First Republic to more recent attempts in 2011, 2015, and 2023.
He said, “Things are still unfolding. We are not sure. This is just the beginning. There is a lot more to come, but it’s not surprising given the nature of our politics and the nature of the persons and personalities allegedly behind the coalition. This is expected.
“Coalitions are not new in our country. Some have succeeded, others have failed. For the last few months, some of the key promoters of this coalition have been jumping from one party to another. In fact, if you take any of the individuals prominent in the coalition, you will see they have moved from parties to parties over the last maybe 16 years. So it’s not surprising.
“If you are talking of this coercion to get people to either drop their ambitions or go to the APC, it’s been going on in various forms. For the last year, people have been coerced to leave their parties. That is part of it. I have spoken to people who said the party is dead on arrival because the ruling party will pull out all the stops to ensure that disarray and conflict engulf the new coalition.
“My reading for now, given the little evidence we have from the coalition, is that to me personally it’s a bit of a disappointment. I have not seen a coherent statement of what they intend to do. The emphasis on personalities—who is going to be president, who will be senate president or secretary to the federal government gives me a sense of déjà vu. We are going back to square one.
“If it is all about personalities, I think they are dead on arrival. If they can present a coherent policy programme and tell us how to restore national institutions, revitalise the economy, and promote inclusion, then maybe they can stand. But for now, I don’t see anything.
“Probably what is disappointing is that up to now we are talking of personalities. Nobody is talking of ideology. All the parties in Nigeria, nearly all of them, maybe one or two exceptions, share the same ideology: liberal democracy and neoliberal economic policies. There isn’t much difference.”