Notable opposition figures who have publicly declared for the ADC are former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed and a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, a notable figure in the APC.
Others are former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, former Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwa, a senator on the paltform of Labour Party, Sen. Ireti Kingibe, the former Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River and former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, both formerly of the PDP.
Former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun, former Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Sen. Tunde Ogbeha, former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, former Gov. Emeka Ihedioha (Imo) and former Gov. Oserheimen Osunbor (Edo) were also in attendance.
Others included former Chairman of APGA, Victor Umeh, Former Governor Celestine Omehia (Rivers), former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), former Governor Bindow Jibrilla (Adamawa), former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, Sen. Aishatu Binani and Dele Momodu.
The list also includes Sen. Dino Melaiye, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti, Prof. Olushola Eleka and Sen. Ishaku Abbo also graced the occasion.
“The party is determined to offer Nigerians a path to security, prosperity, peace and progress”, stated the former Senate president, who declared that the coalition was for all Nigerians, irrespective of their age, social and economic status.
Mark, a former military general, who said he opted for the ADC after extensive deliberations and discussions, described the coalition as a concerted effort to rebuild the pillars of Nigeria’s democracy and prevent Nigeria’s descent into a one-party state.
“Having adopted ADC, we commit ourselves to building and transforming it into a strong political party, not merely as another electoral vehicle but as a fortress and platform of our revived democracy. It will be the harbinger of democracy where members of the party will reign supreme; a party that obeys its rules and constitution in the best democratic traditions. It will be a party of equal stakeholders, equal joiners and equal owners. It is the great house into which all patriots are invited. It will be a party that recognises the experience of the old and the energy of the youth. To all Nigerians, we say here is the new big tent into which all patriots are invited,” he said.
Mark described the coalition arrangement as a bold and new path of unity over division, service over slogans, action over excuses, compassion over inhumanity, transparency over opacity, inclusion over nepotism, performance over empty promises, rule of law over impunity and justice over inequity.
“Our mission transcends any electoral calendar”, Mark said
ADC’s immediate past National Chairman, Raph Nwosu, who appears not to be speaking the minds of other party stakeholders, rationalised the rising membership of a discordant association, saying the event was not seeking power, but moving Nigeria to global reckoning. “ADC has always been about building Nigeria and the African continent,” he said.
He recalled that the journey had started about 18 months ago, explaining why the party’s NWC members stepped down for Mark as the interim national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as the protem National Secretary.
“With Mark, we all decided to resign so that he could take us to the villa. We also approved Aregbesola as the national secretary of the party. Look at the two of them; when you see their commitments to this country, you will see that it is a new beginning,” he said.
Nwosu spoke as concerned stakeholders in the ADC opposed the appointment of Aregbesola as the Interim National Secretary.
Musa Matara, who claimed to be the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, and leading the stakeholders who comprise the youth and women leaders, state party executives and ward coordinators across the country, insisted that the party was not a private coalition platform to be hijacked by any elite group.
He faulted the emergence of Aregbesola as the party’s interim national secretary for not following due process as well as the ADC’s guidelines, stating the appointment lacks due process, transparency and the broad-based legitimacy expected in a democratic setting.
“ADC is not a private coalition platform to be hijacked by any elite group or individuals, regardless of how eloquent or ideologically polished their speeches may sound. Our party has structures, leadership organs, youth and women’s wings and constitutional guidelines, none of which were consulted or respected in the announcement of this so-called appointment,” he said.
Matara wondered why Aregbesola was talking about internal democracy, ideological discipline and inclusiveness in his acceptance speech while the circumstances surrounding his emergence contradicted the process of internal democracy.
“Who appointed Aregbesola? Which organ of the ADC ratified this appointment? Was the National Executive Committee (NEC) involved? Were state chairmen, youth leaders and elected national officers consulted? If the answer is ‘No’, as it is, then this ‘appointment’ is null and void,” he said.
Matara also denied the claim that ADC had become the ‘platform of the National Opposition Coalition Group’, describing it as misleading, and advised the coalition members to tread carefully, as a few individuals were attempting to sell out the party for personal gains.
He maintained that ADC was not for sale, adding that it belonged to its members, not political merchants or elite dealmakers. “Our millions of members have not been informed or carried along in this so-called coalition.
“If anyone is attempting to force an opposition merger without grassroots consent, they are trampling on democratic ethics and party sovereignty. Let it be known to those who are trooping into our party under this chaotic coalition arrangement that the ADC has been battling unresolved legal crises since the 2023 general elections”.
“These matters remain in court and unresolved. Any coalition attempt built on such shaky legal ground is irresponsible and potentially self-destructive,” he said.
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