Presidency Labels New Opposition as Power-Hungry Failures
Faces of new ADC opposition leaders
The Presidency has sharply criticized the Wednesday unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform for Nigeria’s 2027 opposition coalition, describing it as a coalition of “failed and desperado politicians driven solely by a hunger for power.”
In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency accused the coalition’s members of prioritizing personal ambition over national progress.
The statement followed the official launch event held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, which brought together prominent opposition figures.
Notable attendees include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President David Mark, and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Mark and Aregbesola were appointed interim National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, respectively.
The Presidency highlighted that many of these politicians have previously held positions of power at both the state and national levels but have failed to effect meaningful change.
Onanuga dismissed the event as a “charade” and characterized its participants as “political failures seeking renewed relevance.”
“These politicians are desperados hungry for power not for the benefit of Nigerians but for their own personal gain,”
“They seek power at all costs because they cannot endure another four years in political obscurity or permanent irrelevance.”Onanuga said.
He noted that many of the coalition members had distanced themselves from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). For example, Rotimi Amaechi effectively left the APC in 2022 after losing the presidential primary to President Tinubu, while former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami distanced himself following an unsuccessful governorship bid in Kebbi State. Onanuga also referenced Hadi Sirika, currently facing trial over allegations of contract fraud, and Rauf Aregbesola, whom he described as a “renegade” expelled from the APC for anti-party activities during the Osun governorship election.
Other figures such as Kashim Imam and former APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie Oyegun were also dismissed as disillusioned and politically irrelevant within the APC. Imam reportedly withdrew from party activities after failing to secure the vice-presidential ticket, while Oyegun was noted as having been involved with the new coalition since its inception.
Onanuga cautioned Nigerians against being misled by what he described as a coalition lacking both ideology and a coherent agenda.
“My advice to Nigerians is to keep your eyes wide open. A political party without a clear agenda or ideology, whose members are united only by their opposition to President Tinubu, will not serve the country’s interests. It risks setting us back by decades,” he warned.
He expressed confidence that the coalition would eventually collapse due to the “irreconcilable personal and political ambitions” of its members.
