The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described moves by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and ex-Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi to register a new political party as desperate moves by “confused politicians chasing relevance.”
Speaking to Punch, APC’s National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ijeoma Arodiogbu dismissed the influence of the proposed All Democratic Alliance (ADA), insisting that it is simply a jamboree of strange bedfellows” bound together by personal ambition rather than national interest.
Arodiogbu insisted that the party was not moved by the politicians’ coalition, maintaining that they were simply power-grabbers reeling from rejection from their former political homes.
“We are not losing sleep over a confused coalition of politicians who have serially jumped ship. Nigerians know better.
“They are merely power-grabbers trying to regroup after being rejected by their former political homes,” Arodiogbu said.
The opposition coalition, which includes former Senate President David Mark and other notable political figures, formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday to register ADA as a new political party.
The move put to rest speculation about whether the bloc would revive an old platform or create a new one.
But the APC sees nothing formidable in the birth of ADA.
“They’re merely recycling old faces with no fresh ideas. The Nigerian people are not gullible. They can see that this is a coalition of convenience driven by personal ambition, especially Atiku’s endless quest for the presidency,” Arodiogbu stated.
Commenting on reports that Atiku seems hesitant to fully commit to the new alliance, Arodiogbu said the former vice president was simply hedging his bets, unsure whether the new platform would hand him a presidential ticket.
“Atiku is afraid. He knows he might be ambushed at the new party. That’s why he is clinging to the PDP, a party that still holds some structure.
“He fears that his lifelong ambition could be derailed if he aligns fully with El-Rufai and Amaechi,” he said.
Speaking further, he said, “What exactly are they offering Nigerians? Is it El-Rufai, whose antecedents and divisive rhetoric are well known? Or Amaechi, who has made a career out of political opportunism and deception? Nigerians have not forgotten.”
According to Arodiogbu, the idea that the new coalition could unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 was not just laughable, but insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians.