The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, said on Monday that he is not happy about the exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the party.
He spoke during an interview on ARISE NEWS, where he explained why their departure matters and how the party plans to move forward.
Abdullahi said the loss is real and cannot be ignored. He made it clear that the politicians who left are important figures in the country’s political space.
“I would be lying to say it didn’t mean anything. No, these are two significant politicians, frontline politicians in this country. When you lose those two politicians, then you will feel that you’ve lost something,” he said.
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Despite this, he insisted that the situation is not beyond repair. He said the party remains focused on its wider goal.
He noted that the ADC is working to build a strong coalition that can bring different political interests together.
“But it’s not a mortal blow, because what we are trying to do is to build a broad-based coalition. A big coalition that will include everyone,” he said.
He explained that the idea of a coalition came from challenges faced by individual parties.
Abdullahi said many parties had been weakened, which made unity necessary.
“Our individual parties had been destabilised, and the only way out for us was to come together and form this coalition,” he said.
Abdullahi also spoke about concerns over the direction of the country.
He said there was a shared belief among members that urgent action is needed.
“There was also a consensus among us that the direction the country is going is quite precarious, and the only way we can win election and rescue the country from the misrule of the APC is to build a party that is formidable enough to beat the incumbent,” he said.
On the reasons behind the exit, Abdullahi referred to a public statement by Peter Obi.
He said this remains the clearest explanation available.
“He said the party is beleaguered by legal challenges, which is true. But in spite of these legal challenges that we have, we built one of the most formidable coalition parties in Nigeria,” Abdullahi said.
Even with his disappointment, Abdullahi noted a small sense of relief. He said the party can now focus better on its plans.
“I’m not happy they left. But in a way, it’s a bit of relief. Now we can focus on really doing what we need to do without being under the pressure cooker that they were trying to put us in,” he said.
