Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition as a political charade that will not survive beyond six months.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Bwala described the coalition as a gathering of “internally displaced politicians” lacking ideology, vision, and any credible alternative to the current administration.
According to him, the alliance is a desperate attempt by opposition figures to stay politically relevant ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“What I still find intriguing is that this coalition of internally displaced politicians has not been able to summon the courage to come up with alternative facts, alternative policies, or alternative programmes,” he said.
“They have not brought a single alternative policy to the table. All they do is criticise and issue press statements. The truth is, they lack vision and have not shown Nigerians they truly care.”
Bwala declared that the struggle for a presidential candidate within the ADC would ultimately break the coalition apart and make the next election easier for President Tinubu.
“All this fantasy of coalition, we all know that once there is a phenomenon like that, we are going to have a good two to three weeks of romanticising, we have ideas, we can do this,” he said.
“But one of them, his name is Datti, has already sensed the danger ahead and said the problem of this coalition will be who becomes the president. Because right now, I am quoting him, everybody wants to be the president.
“After one month, when they sit down, I am telling you on my honour, in the next six months, that coalition will not even be a conversation. They will scatter.”
Bwala further claimed that Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has conceded his ambition to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and is now being positioned for the vice presidential slot.
“Peter Obi is now a non-issue. He is a non-starter. Already, he has conceded his presidential ambition to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Now he has become second fiddle, but he needs to fight for the vice presidential ticket with Rotimi Amaechi”, Bwala said.
He alleged that Obi was being offered the position of campaign director general, with the promise that he would succeed Atiku after a single term in office.
The people’s insight that Datti Baba-Ahmed, the LP’s 2023 vice presidential candidate, had earlier warned of possible cracks within the ADC coalition, stressing that the race for the presidential ticket could destabilise the alliance.
Baba-Ahmed advised Nigerians not to be “consumed” by the excitement surrounding the formation, noting that the coalition lacked the kind of unity and clarity that defined the 2013 APC merger, where then candidate Muhammadu Buhari was unanimously seen as the flagbearer.
He said while he supported the coalition’s objectives and was open to joining, he remained a member of the Labour Party.
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