…Says opposition leaders simply defected to ADC, not forming a coalition

By Shina Abubakar – Osogbo

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed the recently announced opposition alliance involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing it as a “fraud.”

Speaking in Osogbo on Sunday during an interview with Vanguard, Basiru said the arrangement being touted as a coalition is in fact a mass defection of political figures into the African Democratic Congress (ADC), not a coalition in the true political sense.

“What happened during the formation of the APC in 2015 was a true merger of political parties, where the certificates of the merging parties were withdrawn for the creation of a new one. But this so-called coalition is nothing but deception,” he stated.

He accused the opposition leaders, including El-Rufai, of misleading Nigerians by branding their defection as a coalition rather than acknowledging it as abandonment of their original parties.

“Coalition implies a temporary alliance among distinct political parties to form a government. What we are seeing here is simply frustrated and internally displaced politicians jumping ship into another party. It’s not a coalition, but a ploy to create false impressions among the populace,” Basiru said.

Reacting to suggestions that the APC is threatened by the development, the former senator said there is no panic in the ruling party. Instead, he argued, it is the opposition that appears disoriented.

“Just recently, these same opposition figures were accusing President Bola Tinubu and the APC of trying to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Now that they have defected into the ADC, they claim we are panicking. It only shows their confusion and inconsistency,” he added.

Dr. Basiru maintained that the APC remains focused on expanding its political base across the country, particularly in regions like the South-South, where support was previously limited.

He also dismissed any notion of a significant power shift in favor of the ADC, stating that no sitting APC governor is considering defection.

“To the glory of God, the APC is gaining more ground, especially in the South-South. We are concentrating on real growth and governance, not getting distracted by political theatrics from displaced opposition members,” he concluded.