Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says the party has moved on from the exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, insisting that a broader opposition coalition ahead of 2027 remains possible.
Obi and Kwankwaso joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress from the ADC over internal crisis in the party.
Abdullahi spoke on Wednesday during an interview on ARISE News.
The former sports minister admitted that the departure of Obi and Kwankwaso from the party came as a surprise.
“Of course, it came to us a little bit as a surprise,” he said.
“It was a glitch, I must say. But we’ve moved on from that.”
According to him, the party has regained stability and remains focused on confronting what he described as worsening governance in the country.
“We’ve re-stabilised and we’re moving forward because the objective is the same,” he said.
“How do we stop the steady deterioration of governance in our country? And how do we strengthen multi-party democracy in our country?”
Obi and Kwankwaso recently joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where discussions around a united opposition platform for the 2027 election have intensified.
Despite the setback, Abdullahi said efforts to build a common opposition front against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were still ongoing.
“A unified opposition stands a better chance of challenging for power,” he said.
He acknowledged that multiple opposition candidates could favour the ruling party.
“Once you have three or four horse races against the incumbents, it’s always an advantage to the incumbents,” he said.
However, Abdullahi insisted the situation was not beyond repair.
“It may have been a setback, but it’s not a fatal blow,” he said.
“Our hope and expectation is that we will still be able to find a way to work together.”
The former minister also disclosed that opposition leaders had earlier agreed in principle to present a single presidential candidate against the APC.
“When we left Ibadan a couple of weeks ago, we said we were going to present a common presidential candidate,” he said.
“Conversation is still possible in that direction.”
Speaking on zoning, Abdullahi said the ADC believes in equity and fairness but would ultimately approach the issue from a strategic perspective.
“As a matter of principle, when you talk about equity, justice, fairness and balance, ADC aligns with that,” he said.
“But we find ourselves in a peculiar situation where the decision we are going to take is going to be strategic rather than trying to be politically correct.”
