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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Nigerian opposition party confident it can beat Tinubu in 2027 without coalition

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • The African Democratic Congress (ADC) believes its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, can defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election without a coalition.
  • Party spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi stated that while a coalition could ease the task, it is not necessary for victory.
  • The ADC is open to cooperation with other opposition parties, focusing on areas like election monitoring rather than solely on a single presidential candidate.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is projecting confidence in its ability to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, even without forming a broad coalition of opposition parties. Bolaji Abdullahi, the party's National Publicity Secretary, asserted on Channels Television's Politics Today that their candidate, Atiku Abubakar, possesses the strength to win independently.

We are going to win. We don’t need a coalition to win this election.

— Bolaji AbdullahiNational Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, stating the party's confidence in winning the 2027 election without a coalition.

Abdullahi acknowledged that a united front could simplify the path to victory, but stressed it was not a prerequisite. "We are going to win. We don’t need a coalition to win this election," he stated. The party aims to draw support from across Nigeria, banking on voter dissatisfaction with the current administration.

If we are able to build the kind of coalition that we started to build, maybe to make our job easier, but we don’t need that coalition. We don’t necessarily need the coalition to win the election.

— Bolaji AbdullahiNational Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, elaborating on the necessity of a coalition for victory.

Despite the assertion of independent strength, the ADC remains open to continued dialogue with other opposition parties. However, Abdullahi clarified that these discussions are not primarily focused on coalescing around a single presidential candidate. Instead, the emphasis is on potential areas of cooperation, such as developing a common strategy for election monitoring and safeguarding votes.

I believe so, and that’s our thinking, and that’s what we are working on.

— Bolaji AbdullahiNational Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, responding to a question about Atiku Abubakar's ability to defeat Bola Tinubu single-handedly.

This stance comes after a previous attempt at opposition realignment in 2025, which saw prominent figures unite under the ADC banner but ultimately fractured due to internal disagreements. Key figures like Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso later departed the party. The ADC's current strategy appears to be consolidating its own base while exploring tactical alliances for electoral integrity.

The experience of Nigerians in the last three years has pushed people to the extent that they are saying that anybody but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

— Bolaji AbdullahiNational Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, explaining the potential voter sentiment against the incumbent president.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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