A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi, and a former Chief of Staff to the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Prof. Gbade Ojo, on Wednesday, expressed skepticism on the survival of the African Democratic Congress {ADC} as the coalition movement to outer the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress {APC} in 2027.
It is worth recalling that some political leaders have coalesced to rejuvenate the ADC as an alternative platform to challenge the APC in the next presidential election.
Speaking about the prospects of the coalition movement, Farounbi said there were many pitfalls and hurdles ahead.
The former envoy said: ”The party may experience the kind of problems Peter Obi had in the Labour Party. There is a case of expired leadership in the ADC. The party is for the pursuit of power, and after the ouster of Tinubu, instead of providing alternate policies to address the challenges of the country. There is the issue of individual ambition, which may create problems for it.
”There is no grassroots base support for the party. When the APC was formed, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change, and a part of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) collapsed their structures. In the case of the ADC, there is nothing like that.
Again, the promoters of the coalition were in power for a long time. Aregbesola, Ameachi, Atiku, David Mark, and others were in power for years. They are parts of those things they are criticising.”
In his remarks, Ojo, a Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Ilorin, stated that the ADC still has many hurdles to overcome.
The professor said: ”It is a function of many things. It is difficult to predict the future because the adopted party is still in its embryonic stage. The issue of power sharing can still break their ranks, because they have not agreed on who will be the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate. A faction of the ADC executives is still opposed to the coalition. There may be legal encumbrances on their way.”
The professor, however, warned Tinubu not to underrate the new coalition.
”If they can overcome the legal huddles, it is a big risk for the APC to underrate them. The coalition can leverage the weaknesses of the ruling party in terms of security and the economic situation to mobilise the grassroots and spring surprises. The APC should not underrate the party. Notwithstanding that members of the coalition were once in government and are members of the ruling elites, they can still hoodwink the electorate in their favour,” he said.
