The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed the Ibadan summit of opposition leaders, describing it as lacking both structure and legitimacy.
Basiru said the gathering, widely portrayed as a coalition of opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, was merely an assemblage of individuals rather than a formally constituted meeting of political parties.
According to him, no political party can validly participate in such a summit without prior approval from its National Working Committee (NWC) or National Executive Committee (NEC), insisting that the absence of such authorisation undermines the credibility of the event.
“The so-called Ibadan summit is a ruse. It was an assemblage of individuals, not ten political parties,” Basiru said.
“For parties to meet, there must be prior authorisation from their NWC or NEC. Without that, it is simply a gathering of individuals,” Basiru added.
He argued that claims of multiple parties converging at the summit were misleading, noting that only a handful of individuals were present and not duly mandated representatives of their respective parties.
The APC chieftain further stated that the successful hosting of the summit contradicts allegations that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is steering the country toward a one-party system.
Instead, he maintained that the event demonstrates the openness of Nigeria’s political space, adding that the opposition’s push for coalition reflects an inability to compete independently.
“If they now claim that ten political parties met to gang up against one party, it contradicts their earlier narrative.
“It shows that the political space remains open, but they lack the strength to compete individually,” he added.
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