The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Presidency of orchestrating a plot to destabilise the growing opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections. The party's claim comes amid internal legal and political challenges, including a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by three aggrieved members seeking to sack the Senator David Mark-led interim leadership of the party. Amid these developments, the immediate past national chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, warned that the newly formed opposition coalition could collapse under the pressure of conflicting interests and rival political factions if not carefully managed. Meanwhile, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, announced his departure from the All Progressives Congress (APC). Similarly, the former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina State, Salisu Lawal Uli, withdrew from the PDP and declared allegiance to the Coalition of Nigeria Political Groups under the ADC umbrella. In another shift, Adamu Waziri, a PDP Board of Trustees member, also left the party for the ADC, citing the loss of the PDPs credibility. Last week, prominent opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, Labour Partys 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, officially adopted the ADC as the platform to challenge President Bola Tinubus re-election bid in 2027. In response, the ADC, through its founding National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, announced the dissolution of the partys existing structure to pave the way for the coalition. In a statement issued yesterday, ADC Interim National Publicity Secretary and National Coalition Spokesperson, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the Presidency of initiating a covert campaign to weaken the coalition. We have credible intelligence that the aim of this meeting is not for national security or peace-building. It is to intimidate, coerce, and if possible, co-opt these individuals into a fabricated scheme against the opposition coalition. This is not politics. This is sabotage, Abdullahi said. He claimed that former state chairmen and senior party executives from the North-East and North-West were invited to a secret meeting with high-ranking federal officials. Describing the alleged actions as a direct assault on Nigerias multi-party democracy, Abdullahi said the moves were designed to steer the country toward a one-party state. The July 1 coalition declaration and the July 2 unveiling of the ADC have rattled the ruling party. It is now obvious that the Tinubu administration, having lost the trust of the Nigerian people, cannot withstand the pressure of a united and credible opposition. But rather than correct its ways, it has resorted to its old playbook of destabilising opposition parties. We call on President Bola Tinubu to take note of these sinister moves by some of his appointees and call them to order. The President needs to prove to Nigerians that he is, indeed, a democrat. He needs to remind his men that if the Goodluck Jonathan administration was as intolerant and as subversive of the opposition, the APC would not have come to power in 2015 and he would not have been a president today. Abdullahi added, Let it be clear: the coalition movement is an idea whose time has come. This party belongs to every Nigerian who is tired of the lies, the manipulation, and hardship. It belongs to every Nigerian who wants to restore decency, vision, and justice to governance. We would, therefore, not allow a handful of desperate men to turn Nigeria into a one-party dictatorship. And it would be our patriotic duty to resist it with every democratic means available to us. Abdullahi also clarified that the party is currently not discussing its presidential ticket for the 2027 elections. Were not having any of those conversations right now. That will come later. For now, were focused on building the party to offer Nigerians a viable alternative, he said.
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