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.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has come under criticism following its decision to alter the list of candidates that emerged from its National Assembly primaries, sparking fresh concerns over internal democracy and the credibility of its candidate selection process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Opposition parties condemned the move, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing the ruling party of descending into confusion, the Labour Party (LP) describing the substitutions as undemocratic, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) branding the action reckless.
The APC, however, defended the changes, insisting they reflected fairness and the wishes of party members. It also urged opposition parties to focus on resolving their own internal crises rather than commenting on its affairs.
The controversy followed the APC’s directive to its state chapters to submit the final list of candidates for the 2027 elections while issuing Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms for completion.
Several aspirants who were initially declared winners alleged that they were replaced after the party’s May Primary Election Appeal Commission reviewed petitions arising from the primaries.
Reports indicate that the APC National Working Committee (NWC), acting on the appeal committee’s recommendations, overturned the victories of several senatorial candidates in nine states and restored six serving senators to the party’s final list.
Those reinstated include Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), Emmanuel Udende (Benue North-East), Titus Zam (Benue North-West), Shuaibu Isa Lau (Taraba North), Adeniyi Adegbonmire (Ondo Central), and Olajide Ipinsagba (Ondo North). In Abia South, Prince Paul Ikonne replaced Edinburgh Erondu.
Among those affected was former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, whose earlier victory in the Benue North-East primary was nullified in favour of incumbent Senator Emmanuel Udende.
The revised list has since generated internal disagreements and raised legal questions, particularly in light of INEC’s warning that it would reject the names of candidates who did not emerge from primaries monitored by the commission.
Reacting to the development, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, described the changes as evidence of growing confusion within the APC, saying the opposition would take advantage of the situation ahead of the elections.
“With the change of the candidate list, there is confusion in the APC. Let them remain in confusion so that we can take advantage of it and reclaim power. It is not our duty to advise them on how to put their house in order,” he said.
The Labour Party also criticised the substitutions, insisting that candidates who emerge from valid primaries should not be replaced.
LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the party had consistently respected the outcome of its primaries, describing the APC’s action as a mockery of the Electoral Act and democratic principles.
“For us in the Labour Party, we have never removed the names of people who won our primaries and replaced them with those who did not. That is how democracy should be practised,” Asogwa said.
However, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, argued that political parties have the constitutional right to determine their candidates through internal mechanisms.
He noted that the Supreme Court had affirmed the authority of political parties to nominate candidates and stressed the need for aggrieved members to pursue available internal appeal and reconciliation processes.
Similarly, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) defended the APC’s action. Its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the Electoral Act empowers political parties to manage their candidate selection process, including addressing irregularities through internal mechanisms.
He maintained that if a party identifies flaws in its primary process and opts to make adjustments in line with its constitution, it is within its rights to do so, while denying allegations that the NDC had imposed candidates.
The Oyo State Government has denied reports claiming it paid ransom to secure the release of pupils and teachers abducted by bandits in Oriire Local Government Area, describing the allegation as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said the claim was “far from the truth” and accused “irresponsible bloggers” of deliberately spreading misinformation to confuse the public.
“Although both the Oyo State and Federal Governments have been making concerted efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted children and their teachers, no ransom has been paid to the bandits, either directly or indirectly,” Oyelade stated.
He urged residents to disregard the reports and rely only on information released through official government channels.
The commissioner added that the Oyo State Government is working closely with security agencies to ensure the safe release of the abductees and bring the incident to a successful conclusion.
The pupils and teachers were abducted on May 15 when armed bandits attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro-Esienle communities of Oriire Local Government Area. The coordinated attack also claimed the life of a teacher.
The victims have remained in captivity since the attack, while the Oyo State Government, the Federal Government, and security agencies continue efforts to secure their freedom.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has dismissed reports that aggrieved aspirants who lost the party’s primary elections are plotting to work against its candidates in the 2027 general elections.
Following the conclusion of the party’s primaries a few weeks ago, reports had alleged that some unsuccessful aspirants were considering supporting candidates of other political parties in protest, with the aim of undermining APGA’s chances at the polls.
However, APGA National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, described the claims as false, insisting that the party remains united after a reconciliation meeting convened by Governor Charles Soludo.
“I am hearing this from you. As a party, we have not received any report of such a plot. Let me state clearly that all the aspirants have resolved to work for the success of the party in the 2027 general elections,” Opara said.
He explained that during the meeting held at the Light House in Awka, aspirants and candidates openly discussed issues arising from the primaries, stressing that none of the participants accused the party of conducting an unfair or non-transparent process.
“Everyone expressed their views about the primary elections. No one alleged that the process lacked transparency. The only concern expressed was that each aspirant had hoped to emerge victorious.
“At the end of the meeting, every misunderstanding, anxiety and misgiving surrounding the primaries was resolved, and the party remains one united family,” he added.
Opara also warned opposition parties against what he described as deliberate attempts to spread falsehoods and create disaffection within APGA.
He cautioned individuals engaging in cyberbullying and name-dropping for political purposes to desist, warning that the party would not hesitate to pursue legal action against anyone found defaming its members.
“This is nothing but cheap blackmail by the opposition. They should be mindful of the legal consequences of cyberbullying and name-dropping. We urge our party faithful and the general public to disregard these spurious reports,” he said.
This version improves grammar, flow, attribution, and readability while preserving the substance of the original report.
Former Minister Uche Nnaji
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a court order permitting it to detain former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, for an initial 14 days as investigations into alleged certificate forgery continue.
The remand order followed Nnaji’s arrest on Wednesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after he arrived from Enugu aboard a chartered flight.
According to an official of the anti-graft agency, the court-approved remand will enable investigators to interrogate the former minister over the allegations, with the possibility of seeking an extension should further investigation require additional time.
Nnaji was apprehended following the execution of a bench warrant earlier issued by the Federal High Court after he allegedly failed to honour several invitations extended by the commission.
The ICPC subsequently confirmed the arrest in an official statement signed by its spokesperson, John Odey, stating that the former minister is in the commission’s custody as investigations continue into allegations bordering on the forgery of academic credentials and a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate allegedly submitted during his ministerial screening process.
By Okey Maduforo Awka
Despite the Federal High Court pronouncement against the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC ) in Anambra state, the National Working Committee( NWC) of the party has issued nomination forms to candidates of the National and state Assemblies of the party .
Recall that the Federal High Court Abuja had ruled that Sen Emma Anosike is not the Chairman of the party; a judgement that is unsettling party in the area which the plaintiffs denied knowledge of the suit insisting that it is a kangaroo pronouncement.
The affected state executive members, Bright Osemeka, Mrs Ify Chinwoko Nzekwe and Amaechi Chinweze had contended that they never filed any action challenging the leadership of Sen Emma Anosike adding that they remain loyal to the Anosike led executive.
According to the Deputy National Organizing Secretary of the party Mr Emeka Okafor ;
“The Federal High Court pronounent did not mention the nominated candidates of the party for the National and state Assembly elections and we have issued nomination forms to the candidates”
“Again the matter neither joined the nominated candidates nor had any legal position on the primary elections of the party in Anambra state hence the nominated candidates remain our candidates for Anambra state ” he said.
Recall that Sen Emma Anosike as at the period of the primary elections was the Chairman of the party an exercise that was adjudged peaceful and transparent by the National Working Committee of the party and the Election Committee sent to the state by the Leadership of the party in Abuja .
Similarly, the expelled members of the party did not take part in the election following the suit filed by them against the party in Anambra state.
They were suspended by the party because the party found out that they did not explore the laid down avenues of conflict or dispute resolutions before heading to the Court which the party stated that it is against the constitution of the party which also stipulates outright expulsion.
Meanwhile it is not clear if the said Chairman of the party who the Court endorsed has taken over the party Secretarate in Awka , nor has he convened any meeting of the party; a development that has deepened the unsettled state of affairs of the party .
It is however gathered that sustained legal battle is on in Abuja over the said judgement as the crisis lasts .
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