The African Democratic Congress has provided an explanation for Atiku Abubakar’s absence from the G100 opposition gathering in Abuja on Monday.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, stated that talks between political parties rather than presidential contenders were the main emphasis of the meeting.
Speaking on Tuesday, Abdullahi appeared on Day Break on Arise Television.
According to our understanding, the summit is more about discussions between political parties than it is about discussions between candidates.
”It’s more about looking for ways that political parties may work together. Therefore, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s absence is not significant,” he stated.
Abdullahi said that the ADC had sufficient representation at the summit, pointing out that he was there with four of the party’s vice chairmen.
“I attended the G100 Summit, and the party was well-represented—we had about four Vice Chairmen.” Thus, we took part in the process and ADC was completely represented,” he stated.
In order to discuss potential areas of cooperation ahead of the 2027 elections, leaders of six opposition political groups convened at the summit on Monday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Center in Abuja.
The gathering was a component of the opposition parties’ continuous attempts to create a shared framework for cooperation in their attempt to overthrow the All Progressives Congress.
Prominent opposition figures who were not present at the event included Atiku, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, the Allied Peoples Movement, and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, Moses Adebisi of the Democratic Leadership Alliance, and Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party were among the summit’s presidential contenders.
The ADC spokesperson added that the party’s ability to generate a single presidential candidate with other opposition parties was not a prerequisite for its involvement in the negotiations.
“As members of the African Democratic Congress, we are glad to have this discussion, but our efforts are independent of our ability to generate a single presidential candidate.
As the ADC, we are claiming that we can overthrow President Bola Tinubu by ourselves in 2027. However, it makes the task easier if we can negotiate this cooperation,” he stated.
However, Abdullahi noted that the ADC remained steadfast in its stance on the gasoline subsidy issue, which might provide an ideological obstacle to any suggested opposition coalition.
According to him, the party saw the return of subsidies as “the ideological pillar” of its plan to lower living expenses.
The promoters of this grand coalition will therefore need to respond to this question: if the other party, such as the candidate you mentioned, His Excellency Peter Obi, does not believe in the return of subsidies and we do, then what will be the basis for the merger?
Therefore, it is not negotiable for us. We’re convinced, and our experts are working around the clock to examine some of the data in more detail than I can explain since I’m not an economist, but we’re not going back on it,” he stated.
According to Abdullahi, the ADC thought it could collaborate with other opposition leaders who agreed with its stance on gasoline subsidies.
“You’ve heard Olawepo-Hashim say that he believes in subsidies, giving subsidies to Nigerians; you’ve heard Sowore say that he believes in giving subsidies to Nigerians—so, if they all agree, those of us who agree on subsidies, that can be a basis for cooperation,” he stated.
