As the coalition meant to oust President Bola Tinubu from power gains momentum, the All Progressives Congress has asserted that the President will emerge victorious in the 2027 election.
David Mark
APC spokesman, Bala Ibrahim, described the coalition, whose leaders met in Abuja on Tuesday, as “dead on arrival.”
Multiple sources within the coalition movement revealed their plans to adopt the African Democratic Congress as their political platform, confirming The PUNCH’s earlier exclusive reports.
This is as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, and other figures within the Peoples Democratic Party, labelled the ruling APC a disaster to the nation.
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“The APC government, which came into being on the false and evil propaganda to save Nigeria from PDP is now a disaster to our nation and therefore must be voted out of power,’’ the coalition members attacked the Tinubu administration in a communiqué issued after their meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The statement, signed by David Mark, called on party members and Nigerians at large to support the emerging coalition aimed at defeating the APC in the 2027 presidential election.
In addition to Atiku and Lamido, other PDP stalwarts present at the meeting include former PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus; former Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), and Dr Sam Egwu (Ebonyi).
Others in attendance are Senator Ben Obi, former PDP National Women Leader, Josephine Anenih; former National Organising Secretary Senator Austin Akobundu, ex-National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, and former National Youth Leader Abdullahi Maibasira, among others.
The Tinubu administration has come under severe censure over the economic and security challenges facing the country.
Ironically, the main opposition parties, including the PDP, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Social Democratic Party, have been battling internal divisions of their own.
In a move to mount a serious challenge ahead of the 2027 elections, former Vice President Atiku, LP’s Peter Obi, ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and others unveiled a new political coalition in Abuja on March 20.
The development sparked widespread national discourse on the prospects of a unified opposition, drawing varied reactions from analysts and citizens alike.
For months, speculations surrounded the choice of a political platform for the coalition. But on May 19, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the coalition had officially adopted the African Democratic Congress as its political base.
Earlier, reports by Sunday PUNCH affirmed that the coalition has chosen the African Democratic Congress as its political platform and has selected Senator Mark to serve as interim chairman, with an official unveiling scheduled for Wednesday.
Rising from their meeting, the coalition issued a communique, which read,” The meeting encourages all well-meaning PDP members and other patriotic Nigerians to join the coalition.
“All coalition partners must be united on the issues of national unity, democracy, national security and national economy and the political will to stamp out corruption embedded in our institutions.
“The coalition partners to work out the modalities of winning all elections, taking into consideration local and national peculiarities.”
The communiqué stated that the gathering of Concerned PDP Leaders was convened to address the troubling state of the party.
The group expressed concern that since the party’s defeat in the last presidential election and the departure of Dr Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman, the PDP has struggled to regain its footing.
It added, “Vested interests from within and the irresponsible actions of the APC-led Federal Government, which has been using state institutions to stifle and destroy Democracy, know no bounds!
“The inability of PDP leadership to lead the party by its Constitution, rules and regulations led it into a chaotic and undisciplined Party!
“The vision of the founding fathers for which the party was established and the role it played in restoring Nigeria as stable and united country and key player on the regional, continental, and global stage has been washed away just as our roles as the leader of the black race is now overtaken by smaller and less endowed countries.”
Mark, Atiku, and other PDP leaders decried the current state of Nigeria, describing the nation as weakened and a source of embarrassment in the international community.
The coalition members added in the communique, “All indices of development that support the comfort and quality of life of the citizens have collapsed, and life is now hell in Nigeria.
“The PDP, which is organic with the discipline, capacity, and history to lead and save Nigeria, is now a shadow of its old self. The heat wave unleashed by the APC Federal government through threats, blackmail and patronage has forced elected officers in government to abandon the PDP.”
An insider privy to the decisions at the meeting informed The PUNCH that the majority of PDP leaders had decided to support the ADC candidate while retaining their PDP membership.
He stated, “You see, in the meeting, we discussed the state of the PDP and how the party can no longer effectively lead the opposition.
“So, we resolved to form a personal alliance with the ADC. What this means is that some of us will remain in the PDP while working for the victory of the ADC presidential candidate.
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Attempts to reach the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and the National Chairman, Umar Damagum, for responses were unsuccessful as they did not answer their calls as of the time of filing this report.
In response, APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, stated that the coalition members had been defeated in the past and expressed confidence that President Tinubu would defeat them collectively again in 2027.
He stated, “The fact that they are meeting in hotels or places at night without any fear means the APC government has improved the security situation of the country. It means the power system of the country has improved. It has improved so well that they don’t have any fear of insecurity, nor do they have any fear of power failure.
“The atmosphere provided by the APC administration for the freedom of association peacefully in itself is a pointer to the improvement.
“The government will continue to provide a favourable atmosphere for them to meet and discuss freely without any harassment, but they are not likely to give any fear or scare to the APC because they are dead on arrival.
“But the coalition is a waste of time. Is it dead on arrival? Yes. It’s dead on arrival. All of them are doing it for selfish reasons and not in the interest of Nigerians.
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