The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has sparked major controversy with claims that the new opposition coalition floated on the ADC platform is nothing more than a political smokescreen to fulfill former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s long-standing ambition to become president.
Kachikwu, speaking during a Sunday interview on Channels Television, alleged that Atiku and his allies have hijacked the coalition’s agenda, using the ADC as a ready-made vehicle for 2027.
“What is happening is not about building a fresh opposition or a people-oriented movement. It is a political heist. They are trying to rebrand old wine in a new bottle. This entire thing is packaged for Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
He further claimed that millions of naira were being offered to key ADC officials across states to step down, in a desperate bid to clear the way for Atiku’s camp to fully take over the party structure.
“They are offering as much as ₦20 million to some ADC state chairmen just to resign. What does that tell you? Their motives are anything but noble,” he declared.
Kachikwu didn’t stop there. He suggested that Peter Obi, one of the prominent faces in the coalition and Labour Party’s 2023 candidate, may already be disillusioned with the unfolding drama.
“Peter Obi has realized this setup is not what it claims to be. That’s why he’s pulling back. It was supposed to be a united opposition, not a disguised PDP rerun.”
The ADC chieftain slammed the coalition’s structure as “deceptive,” warning Nigerians to be cautious of alliances that only seek to rotate the same set of elites in power.
“The same players, the same godfathers, the same class structure it’s a merry-go-round. Nigeria deserves better. This isn’t a revolution; it’s a rerun.”
While the opposition coalition had been presented as a united front to unseat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 with names like Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, Peter Obi, and others being floated Kachikwu’s accusations now threaten to fracture the alliance before it even fully takes off.