ADC doesn’t need coalition to win 2027 election — Bolaji Abdullahi

The African Democratic Congress has said it does not need a coalition with other opposition parties to win the 2027 presidential election, although it remains open to cooperation with other political groups.

Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the ADC, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday while discussing the chances of the party ahead of the 2027 general election.

Abdullahi said the coalition initially envisaged by opposition politicians was expected to make it easier to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress, but the political landscape had since changed following the movement of some key figures to other parties.

“When we started building this coalition, we started on the assumption that if we are able to build a broad-based coalition, it would make our job of beating the APC easier. But that didn’t pan out the way we expected,” he said.

He noted that Peter Obi, whom he described as one of the key figures in the coalition, had moved to the National Democratic Congress, with former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.

“One of the key players, leaders in the coalition, has gone to the NDC, and that’s His Excellency Peter Obi, and of course Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate. We are in the African Democratic Congress,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC spokesman maintained that while a broad opposition alliance could strengthen the party’s chances, it was not a prerequisite for victory.

“What I’m saying is that we don’t need a coalition to win this election. The African Democratic Congress does not need a coalition to win this election,” he said.

“If we are able to build the kind of coalition that we started, maybe it’ll make our job easier, but we don’t need that coalition. We don’t necessarily need the coalition to win the election.”

Abdullahi, however, said discussions among opposition parties were continuing, with the focus shifting from producing a single presidential candidate to identifying areas where the parties could work together.

“We are still having conversations among ourselves, opposition political parties, and there are different areas. You’ve heard about the G100, mobilizing everybody, trying to bring everybody together,” he said.

According to him, one area of possible cooperation is election monitoring and protecting votes during the 2027 polls.

“But the conversation is not about how do we produce a single presidential candidate. The conversation predominantly is about what areas of cooperation is possible,” Abdullahi said.

“For example, if we are able to develop a common protocol for election monitoring and for policing our votes, that is major.”