Politics
2027 showdown: Coalition slams Tinubu as Wike Attacks ADC
•Presidency brands ADC leaders ‘serial election losers
’•FCT minister attacks Mark, others, coalition kicks
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the African Democratic Congress on Thursday engaged in a war of words after the ADC blamed President Bola Tinubu for the current hardships facing Nigerians.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja, Wike dismissed the 2027 political coalition, arguing that only the Peoples Democratic Party can defeat the incumbent President, while insisting that Nigerians are not considering the ADC.
Meanwhile, the PDP’s National Working Committee, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Thursday, clarified that the party has not issued any official position on the coalition.
Additionally, the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, alleged that the faction of the party led by former Senate President David Mark was intentionally designed to make former Vice President Atiku Abubakar the party’s presidential candidate in 2027.
He vowed to challenge the new leaders in court to reclaim the party.
In response to the FCT minister’s attack, ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said in a statement on Thursday that Wike is unsettled because the emerging coalition poses a significant threat to the administration he represents.
Abdullahi maintained that the ADC-led coalition belongs to the Nigerian people.
On Wednesday, a coterie of politicians unveiled the ADC as the coalition platform to oust Tinubu in 2027 following his alleged failure to improve the lot of Nigerians.
Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, ex-Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and other prominent politicians attended the unveiling of the ADC.
Though most of these figures have not formally joined the ADC, they publicly declared their support for the party, which is now led by an interim leadership team headed by David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary, following the resignation of Ralph Nwosu and his team.
Wike mocks coalition
Commenting on the coalition, Wike criticised the opposition leaders, urging them to stop exploiting Nigerians.
The minister also dismissed claims that Nigerians were angry, pointing out that many members of the coalition were once in power but failed to improve the lives of the people during their time in office.
He said, “I heard David Mark say, to rescue Nigeria, Nigerians are angry. David Mark was Senate President for how many terms? Two terms, is it not? Nigerians were happy? Nigerians were happy when he was Senate President for eight years? And there was no single project to Otukpo; not one. He was flying in a helicopter to go to Otukpo. Nigerians were not angry then, but Nigerians are only angry now.
“When Rotimi Amaechi was minister for eight years, Nigerians were not angry. When Nigeria became indebted, Chinese loans, Nigerians were happy. It’s now that Nigerians are angry. I saw Seriake (Dickson). They are saying Nigerians are angry. They want to rescue Nigeria. So, I’m asking this simple question. What happened to Air Nigeria? Nigerians were happy then.
“When they went to APC in 2015 and took over the reins of power in 2023, Nigerians were happy. Was it under Tinubu’s government that banditry came? Tambuwal, you were the speaker for four years. What did you do to make Nigerians not angry? You were a governor in Sokoto State,” he said.
Wike added that he would only agree that Nigerians are angry if such claims came from individuals who never held public office.
He emphasised that Tinubu was actively working to improve the nation’s condition.
The former Rivers state governor noted, “When you want to go to power, tell us. If there are people who have not been in power in this country, who are coming up with such an idea, I can listen to them.
“But not people who were the ones at the helm of affairs of this country for how many years? Look at where this country is. If this President had not taken certain decisions, which may be very challenging, you would have known where we would have been by now.
“A President came and said it’s a scam; took that bold step, we will not allow that. States are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that states are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that we are providing infrastructure in Abuja. I cannot say that there are no challenges. There are challenges. But for Christ’s sake, stop using Nigerians.”
The minister reasoned that only the PDP could challenge Tinubu in 2027 if they got their acts together, stating, however, that the opposition has succeeded in decimating itself.
“The opposition has even decimated itself. Let me tell you why I said so, now you are talking about a coalition. What is the coalition? The only party today that, if they put themselves well, can still challenge this government, assuming, is PDP,” Wike added.
Coalition reacts
The ADC Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said if Wike’s government had kept its promises, the coalition wouldn’t have been necessary, nor would he be so uneasy.
The former sports minister stated, “The ADC has taken note of the virulent attacks launched on the various leaders of the coalition movement by the Hon. Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, in his media chat today.
“Without justifying this behaviour that we find incompatible with the office of a Federal minister, we believe Minister Wike could only descend to that level because of his mortal fear of the threat that the successful unveiling of the coalition of opposition political parties constitutes to the government that he serves.
“We observe that if Minister Wike and the government that he serves had kept their promises to the Nigerian people, the coalition movement would not have been necessary, and he would not have had a need to be so jittery.
“If Minister Wike had paid the salaries of primary school teachers who have been on strike for several months and if he had not treated FCT workers with so much contempt, while he goes about commissioning white elephants running into billions of naira, he would not have needed to be afraid of the coalition.”
Abdullahi further said the coalition leaders are upset that Wike ‘’let himself be used by the government to ruin the PDP, once a leading political force in Africa.’’
He stated, “Minister Wike claimed in his media chat that the coalition leaders are driven only by grievances. If we have any grievances, it is the way the government he is a part, has driven the majority of Nigerians into poverty and misery.
“We are aggrieved to see children of the poor unable to get an education because he would not pay their teachers’ salaries. We are aggrieved to watch the growing insecurity in the FCT that he superintends.
“We are aggrieved that Minister Wike has allowed himself to be used by the government he serves to destroy one of the most powerful political parties in Africa, the PDP.
“But it is rather too late in the day to cry. The coalition movement belongs to the Nigerian people who had been promised renewed hope, but have been served renewed hopelessness. Therefore, no amount of tirade against the leaders of the coalition could stem the tide of this popular movement.”
Joining the fray, the All Progressives Congress described the newly adopted platform for the 2027 opposition coalition as “a gathering of deceivers and self-centered individuals driven by personal grudges.”
In a statement on Thursday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said, “The vaunted opposition coalition platform of choice, the African Democratic Congress, was unveiled yesterday, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, with a gasping whimper, not the roar that its promoters loudly touted.
“However, in reality, it was an unveiling of a coalition of hoaxers and self-obsessed merchants of vendetta, a roll call of Nigeria’s me-or-nothing politicians, who equate their selfish interest with the interest of Nigerians, who cannot bear to be out of the corridors of power and patronage, who are desperate to grab power for themselves by guile and subterfuge, who lay claim to an immoral birthright to power, even while draped in odious record of betrayal of public trust, and rapacious public service.
“Not surprisingly, the speech delivered by Senator David Mark, the alleged National Chairman of ADC, was disgracefully vacant, without substance or purpose, nothing but stitches of untruths, diatribe, and regurgitated and baseless allegations against the APC-led administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Presidency slams coalition
The Presidency on Thursday said the ADC had no semblance of the 2013 merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, asserted this in his latest post on his verified X handle (@SundayDareSD) on Thursday.
He wrote, “Heads up for Nigerians about ADC — There is no injustice to redress — only avaricious ambition to satisfy.”
He added that unlike the APC’s emergence in 2013, the new coalition was not driven by national interest, saying the ADC is being led by “a serial election loser, clutching at what he clearly sees as his last shot at the presidency.”
“Unlike Tinubu, he enters the coalition alone — without the backing of his state governor, his region, or any meaningful political structure. His ambition is personal, not patriotic. So also that of his many co-travellers,” Dare wrote.
He compared the ADC’s founding to the APC’s, saying the 2013 merger that produced the latter was built on strategic discipline and collective sacrifice.
“In 2013, the merger that birthed the APC was driven by selflessness, national interest, and strategic discipline.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite commanding the loyalty of several sitting governors, chose to wait.
“He bided his time, played the long game, and focused on building a viable political platform,” he said.
Dare also cited the unifying influence of then-General Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as “a man seen as a symbol of integrity” and a rallying figure with a strong national grassroots following, a quality, he says, the current coalition lacks.
“No one in this coalition commands that kind of loyalty or trust. Not one of them could genuinely unite a ward, let alone a country,” he reasoned.
He argued that the APC merger was rooted in legitimate grievances, including what he described as the constitutional denial of power to a marginalised region and a collective desire to end what many saw as 16 years of misrule by the People’s Democratic Party.
Dare said, “The APC coalition emerged to address real grievances: the constitutional denial of power to a region that had been unfairly sidelined and to end the 16 years of ruinous governance by the PDP. It was a coalition grounded in justice and balance.”
The current attempt by the ADC, he said, lacks any ideological or national cause since the presidency is already zoned to a region that, he notes, is “rightfully due.
“This new coalition? It’s purely opportunistic. The presidency already rests with the region rightfully due. And that’s where it will be till 2031,” he declared.
Sunday Dare insisted that the political forces that created the APC and ADC are different.
“Let’s be clear – this is not 2013 — and this is not the APC,” he concluded.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
Ahead of the 2027 National Assembly elections, a mass protest voting movement may be building up in Anambra South Senatorial District, following reported moves by members of major political parties to support the candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Ebuka Onunkwo.
The development is said to be linked to grievances among some members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and remnants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the treatment allegedly meted out to Onunkwo during previous political contests.
Onunkwo, who had previously contested the Anambra South senatorial seat under APGA, later emerged as the NDC candidate for the 2027 election.
Although the ADC is currently embroiled in legal disputes over the authentic candidates and the conduct of its primary elections, some members of the APC and APGA are also reportedly dissatisfied with developments within their respective parties.
It was gathered that a section of APGA members, in particular, are backing Onunkwo as a form of protest over the conduct of the party’s senatorial primary, while some members of other parties are also believed to be considering voting for him irrespective of their party affiliations.
Confirming the growing support for Onunkwo, the Chief Executive Officer of NOWAS Oil and Gas Limited and a major stakeholder in Anambra South politics, Chief Ignesus Ikechukwudere Nnubia, said the NDC candidate currently enjoys widespread acceptability across party lines.
Nnubia said the growing support for Onunkwo had made his party affiliation less significant, arguing that voters would ultimately vote according to their conscience and assessment of the candidates.
He said, “At the moment, the number of APGA members with him and supporting him makes one wonder what is left of that party. Even the remnants of the PDP have pitched their tents with him, while members of the ruling APC at the national level are also behind him.
“So, the party that he belongs to is not a factor at all. You know that it is a game of numbers, and people are going to vote according to their conscience and not necessarily because of the political party they belong to.
“People are not bound to vote for their party, and some of them are ready and willing to vote for him.
“We are not talking about the party because he will surely get votes from the NDC, APGA, APC and even other political parties that are already closing ranks to support him as their candidate.”
Nnubia further described Onunkwo as the candidate currently standing tall among the contenders for the Anambra South senatorial seat, expressing confidence that his emergence would usher in what he described as a “new dawn” for the district.
He said political parties should not be the major consideration for voters, stressing that what matters most is the ability of elected representatives to improve the lives of their constituents.
According to him, political parties exist because of the people, and therefore the influence of party structures and incumbency has its limits during elections.
Nnubia said those factors would ultimately be tested by the electorate in the 2027 election, which he described as a contest in which voters’ choices would determine the outcome.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 Ebonyi State election, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has pledged to attract more than ₦2 trillion in private-sector investment to the state within six months of assuming office if elected.
Odii made the pledge while addressing supporters in Lagos ahead of the formal commencement of his campaign.
He said his investment strategy would cover key sectors of the Ebonyi economy, including mining, hospitality, real estate and manufacturing.
According to the PDP candidate, he has identified more than 2,000 prospective investors, each capable of investing about ₦1 billion in the state.
“I have over 2,000 people who can invest ₦1 billion each. When you multiply it, you will get over ₦2 trillion. This has been structured in such a way that all aspects of the economy will be involved,” Odii said.
He said the proposed investment drive was designed not only to inject capital into the state but also to create jobs, expand the productive base of the economy and provide opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs.
Odii said Ebonyi’s natural resources and strategic location placed it in a strong position to attract large-scale investments if its economic potential was properly harnessed.
He promised that his administration would prioritise private-sector participation, industrialisation and job creation while creating an enabling environment for both local and foreign investors.
The candidate also said existing businesses in the state would be supported to expand, while new investors would be encouraged to establish operations across various sectors.
His pledge comes amid growing political activities ahead of the 2027 governorship election, with economic development, employment generation and wealth creation featuring prominently in his campaign message.
The proposed ₦2 trillion investment target within six months, if achieved, would represent a significant boost to Ebonyi’s economy and rank among the most ambitious private-sector investment mobilisation plans proposed in the state.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The planned visit of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Anambra State has sparked controversy following a protest by the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Emma Anosike, that the party was not informed about the visit.
Anosike said the APC in Anambra was never consulted or briefed about the proposed visit, adding that the party was taken aback by reports that the wife of the party’s national leader and presidential candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be visiting the state without recourse to the state chapter.
He said, “It is indeed strange that the First Lady of our presidential candidate is visiting Anambra State without recourse to the party in the state.
“The party wishes to state categorically that we are not part of the arrangements for the reception of our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, because the party was never put in the picture.”
Anosike also dismissed the mantra that “The Progressives Are Working Together”, being canvassed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), describing it as a smokescreen by the ruling party in Anambra to hijack President Tinubu’s re-election from the APC.
He said, “For instance, the APGA-led government in Anambra State did not interface with us on the organisation of the visit, and the party wonders if the progressives are indeed working together.”
The APC chairman, however, said the development would not compromise the First Lady’s visit, urging all APC members and supporters in the state to turn out and give Senator Oluremi Tinubu a warm welcome.
He stressed that despite the party’s reservations over the arrangements, APC members remained committed to welcoming the First Lady to Anambra State.
Former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Sagir Saleh, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Saleh, who served as deputy governor under former Governor Isa Yuguda, announced his resignation in a letter submitted to the party leadership in Katagum Local Government Area.
He cited personal reasons for his decision but did not provide further details.
His exit comes amid growing disagreements within the Bauchi APC following the party’s 2027 governorship primary. Other prominent members, including former governorship aspirant Bala Jibrin and Sunusi Kunde, an associate of Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, have also reportedly left the party.
Jibrin, a former National Auditor of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), resigned on August 31, 2026, following his opposition to the emergence of former Bauchi Governor Muhammad Abubakar as the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate.
He had criticised the primary process and questioned how the candidate emerged.
Kunde also resigned from the APC in August, submitting his resignation to the party chairman of Beti Ward in Misau Local Government Area.
The latest departures are coming as efforts continue to resolve internal disputes and disagreements among APC members in the state.
The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has raised the alarm over an alleged plot to assassinate former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 general election.
Ayodele issued the warning in a video shared on his verified X account on Sunday, urging both opposition figures to strengthen their security and remain vigilant.
The cleric did not identify those allegedly behind the purported plot but claimed that attempts were being made to eliminate Obi and Atiku.
According to him, divine intervention would prevent the alleged plan from succeeding.
“Obi and Atiku, be very conscious of your security. They are looking for any means to eliminate Obi and Atiku.
“But God will never allow it to happen. Watch out and be cautious about your security,” he said.
Ayodele also urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider travelling to the United States, alleging that there were forces in America working against his political fortunes.
The claims come as political activities and realignments intensify ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
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