As Nigeria edges closer to the 2027 general elections, the political terrain is beginning to heat up, with the emergence of new alliances and power blocs, the African Democratic Congress (ADC). However, one of the most anticipated developments — the formation of a grand political coalition to challenge the dominance of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) — has taken off on a disjointed and uncertain footing.
What was initially announced as a broad-based coalition of political parties and “reform-minded politicians” aiming to “rescue Nigeria” from the current leadership under President Bola Tinubu and the APC, it was unclear the political party to use, but it has now adopted ADC for its mission. Under 24 hours of its unveiling, it devolved into a web of contradictions, personal interests, and ideological confusion. Just this morning on the Arise News’ Morning Show, it was a battlefield between the original owners of the ADC and its new owners.
ADC presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu noted that what happened on Wednesday in Abuja was a joke and fruitless efforts. He berated the coalition group, saying that they represent a bad chapter in Nigeria’s past.
He claimed that the coalition is dealing with the former leadership of the party, led by Chief Ralph Nwosu. According to him, the tenure of the Nwosu-led executive of the ADC ended on 21 August 2022.
However, the spokesperson for the coalition, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who also appeared on the show, said: ‘It has been described as an anti-Tinubu coalition, but it goes much more beyond that. It’s not just about the President, but more about saving democracy.
‘We have watched in the last couple of months how all opposition parties have been decimated, either willingly or not, through internal sabotage or through external forces.
‘For some of us, the most important thing is, how do we allow a situation that is staring us in the face? By 2027, God forbid, the only politically viable option to contest the election is APC.
‘Now, the coalition, under ADC, is out to prevent such an unfortunate situation where Nigerians will be presented with no alternative and no choice. Many of us are old enough to remember a time in this country when there were five political parties, and all of them, except one, ended up endorsing Abacha as their presidential candidate. It’s a sense of déjà vu. Are we back in that era? Therefore, everyone outside the APC decided to come together to save the democracy that everybody fought and died for.
‘It’s clear that the situation we are facing in this country makes people ask themselves: is this a democracy? Look at the National Assembly. Its essence is to provide constitutional checks against the excesses of constituted authority, but it has become the appendage of the executive.
‘All these are the fundamentals around which the coalition is being built’.
With this sudden hijack of the ADC by these yesterday’s men, it appears that the trouble for ADC has begun from its house. Kachikwu has threatened to proceed to the court if the new birds forming the coalition fail to do what is right.
The coalition dream & progressive governance
During the Tinubu administration, the idea of a formidable coalition first gained public attention in early 2025, in the aftermath of growing discontent with the current administration. It should be noted that, for a virile democracy, quality opposition is needed. Globally, opposition is good for the growth of democracy. What is worrisome in the case of Nigeria is the gathering of the same weak-minded but loot-prone politicians without a clear developmental ideology beyond the hijack of power for selfish interests.
As political analyst, Nkiru Ezeokoli said, ‘the coalition lacks clarity. Nigerians are tired of political drama. They want solutions, not a recycled elite fighting over power under a new name’.
2027 presidential candidate for ADC
One major factor that will diminish the influence of the coalition in the coming days would be the question: Who will fly the presidential flag for the party? Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as usual, is bent on using the new car to actualise his long-time dream. It should be mentioned that Atiku has been contesting presidential elections since 1993.
The game plan, as reliably informed, is to fly the Atiku/Peter Obi ticket for 2027, while Obi takes over in 2031. In politics, such an agreement cannot hold water. Such a political agreement failed in the past, and it will fail again. The note of warning is to Obi. As a man of integrity that he claims to be, he should count the cost of travelling on such a journey of political error.
The Nigerian political landscape remains as complex as ever. While the dream of a coalition that can truly offer Nigerians a credible alternative remains appealing, early signs from the current effort suggest a repeat of past mistakes. Without clarity of vision, unity of purpose, and a willingness to subordinate personal ambitions for the greater good, the coalition for a New Nigeria may just become another footnote in the country’s long history of failed political experiments.
For a nation desperate for genuine change, that would be a tragedy.
Osanyintuyi, a journalist, writes from Lagos
