Obi, Kwankwaso exit, a setback– ADC
The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has described the exit of former presidential candidate Peter Obi and former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso from the party as a setback, but not a fatal blow. Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Monday, Abdullahi admitted he was personally unhappy about […]
The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has described the exit of former presidential candidate Peter Obi and former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso from the party as a setback, but not a fatal blow.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Monday, Abdullahi admitted he was personally unhappy about their departure but noted that it also came with a measure of relief.
“Absolutely. I mean, personally I’m not happy they left. And I cannot tell you why, because I have my own sentiments. I’m not happy they left. But in a way it’s a bit of relief. Now we can focus on really doing what we need to do without being under the pressure cooker that they were trying to put us in.”
Pressed on whether he was disheartened by the apparent failure of efforts to unify the opposition, Abdullahi rejected that characterization.
He conceded the departure was a setback but insisted it was not a fatal blow to the ADC’s objectives.
“Is it a setback? The answer is yes. Is it a fatal blow? The answer is no. Because the objectives are very clear. They are still the same. We don’t think they are our enemies. We are not going to go into a dogfight with them to say they are not our enemies. As long as the objective is still clear. Yeah, but if it’s not about the objective.”
Abdullahi also criticised Obi for what he called a lack of interest in the party’s ideological foundation. He explained that the ADC had invested months in developing a manifesto that outlined its policy direction, but claimed Obi did not engage with the process.
“We set up a manifesto committee that worked for about two to three months to develop a document that clearly outlines what we will do differently. You may invite His Excellency Peter Obi here and ask him, what is the ADC position on fuel subsidy? What is the ADC’s framework on security? He doesn’t know, because he’s never been interested.”
The ADC spokesperson further argued that some politicians are more concerned with securing party tickets than with the ideological frameworks that define political organisations.
“They are just waiting for the tickets to be handed to them. If you say you want to contest an election, and you believe in changing the country, you should know what your party stands for.”
Obi recently defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), a move that comes amid ongoing political realignments ahead of future elections.