National chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr. Ralphs Okey Nwosu, has disclosed that the discussions on the opposition coalition will be concluded in the next one or two weeks.
The ADC has been adopted as the platform by the coalition groups to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Nwosu in an interview over the weekend, disclosed that the various committees set up by the party have met with those involved in the talks, adding that a final meeting between the civil society and citizens groups, as well as the critical stakeholders will be held to finalise the decision.
“ADC has started a process in the last 16 months, and what we have been doing is that beyond all the political talks about political leaders, we needed to touch the grassroots because the situation in the country will either one-day call for citizen’s revolt or patriot’s coalition,” he stated.
Nwosu said ADC is well considered by well-meaning Nigerians and patriots as the coalition platform.
He however added that because political leadership cannot be discussed in Nigeria in isolation, committees were set up to dialogue with the people.
Describing the party’s politics as transformational and inclusive, he said the conversations are in three folds, stressing that as national chairman and chairman of National Consultative Organ dealing with citizens and some patriots, his job is already clear.
“Dr. Bamidele Jamilu Jade, one of the Deputy National Chairmen is coordinating some arm of the political parties. Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmad is also dealing with stakeholders in political parties.
“So what I can tell you as the chairman is what we have done with the citizens and civil organisations,” he said.
He admitted that the committees had met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi and Mallam Nasir el’Rufai.
“They have met a lot more. They have met Rotimi Amaechi, they have met almost all those who ran for president in 2023 either as aspirants or candidates. Dr. Ahmad have also met all the political parties,” he disclosed.
Nwosu dismissed the suggestion that ADC would just be a multipurpose vehicle by ambitious politicians just to win election, stating that at a summit at Arewa House in Kaduna last year, “we made it clear that any politician who thinks that ADC is a ‘molue’ for going to where they want to go, a multipurpose vehicle must think again because that has made parties to become the weakest link in the chain of our democratic system.
“That is wrong because the weakest link cannot create leaders that can create the kind of transformation that we want. ADC is certainly not the vehicle.”
He also spoke on the zoning of the coalition’s presidency in the 2027, but said the stakeholders are meeting and proper decisions would be taken.
Nwosu added that while the party is not parochial in its decisions, it is not unmindful of the emotions expressed by the people.
“Being the National Chairman of a big coalition that is being formed, I have also heard from a lot of youth groups and they will say, ‘You know it is the turn of the south’.
“They have made the point but one day we were taking aback when some young people came and they said, ‘we talk about equity in Nigeria, but you know what, since this democracy began, the north has done 11 years and the south has done 17 years.
“They said that if the south were to take another four years after Tinubu’s first tenure, it will not become 22 years to 11 years of the north.’
“You know in Nigeria, sometimes we say that we don’t want that dichotomy of ethnicity and religion, that it is causing so much problems. In most of the parties you will see Deputy Chairman (North), Deputy Chairman (South).
“In some of the things we do, if you want to erase certain things, you stop highlighting them.
“In ADC for instance, we don’t have this person, north, this person, south. It creates the dichotomy that we don’t want.
“What we have is Deputy National Chairman that is function based. When you go through our DNA and the things we do, we have given our pamphlets to these leaders because we must start a new cause,” he disclosed.
