The African Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared that it can defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election without relying on a coalition of opposition parties.
This was just as the ADC said its growing support among Nigerians had strengthened its confidence that the party could win the presidential poll independently.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, disclosed this during an appearance on Arise TV, where he said the proposed opposition coalition was intended to make the task of defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) easier, rather than being a condition for the ADC’s victory.
“We don’t need a coalition to win this election. The African Democratic Congress does not need a coalition to win this election,” Abdullahi declared.
He, however, acknowledged that the ADC remained engaged with other opposition parties, particularly on strategies that could help protect votes during the election.
“If we are able to build the kind of coalition that we started, maybe it will make our job easier, but we don’t need that coalition to win the election,” he said.
According to him, opposition parties were exploring areas of collaboration, including the possibility of establishing a joint mechanism for election monitoring and safeguarding votes cast by their supporters.
“We are still having conversations among ourselves, our opposition political parties, and there are different areas,” Abdullahi said.
He added, “If we are able to develop a common protocol for election monitoring and for policing our votes, that is major.”
The ADC spokesman also played down the influence of the APC and its prominent political figures, arguing that political strength within the National Assembly or government structures would not determine the outcome of the presidential election.
“The 2027 election will not be contested on the floor of the National Assembly. It is the people of Nigeria that will decide who they want to vote for,” he said.
Abdullahi expressed confidence in the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, saying the party still had substantial time to mobilise voters and expand its grassroots structure before the election.
“We have the next six months to mobilise. We have the next six months to rally,” he stated.
He further portrayed the 2027 contest as a referendum on the performance of the Tinubu administration, maintaining that voters would determine whether the President deserved another term.
“We are confident we will win this election because we have Nigerians behind us,” Abdullahi declared.
Meanwhile, OK Movement, a platform associated with the joint presidential ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate, Peter Obi, and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has also insisted to retain its independent identity rather than merge with another political organisation.
The movement reached the decision at its National Leadership Summit in Abuja.
In a communiqué issued after the summit, the group said it would not accept any externally imposed consolidation, arguing that such a move could disrupt programmes already underway, weaken its identity and undermine the grassroots structure it had built.
The movement stressed, however, that remaining independent would not prevent it from working with allied political groups on issues where their interests converge.The summit also reaffirmed John Ughulu as the founder and Director-General of the OK Movement, rejecting proposals for his replacement.
It said its decision was based on the role Ughulu had played in building its grassroots network.
“The Movement was built ward by ward, largely on the personal credibility of its founder with the volunteers who make up its ranks,” the communiqué stated.
It added that the loyalty of its grassroots members was linked to the leadership that recruited and trained them, arguing that changing the movement’s leadership could affect the confidence of its mobilisers.
