The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the opposition coalition is a welcome development and good for democracy, and will prevent Nigeria from becoming a one-party state.
Gbajabiamila said this while speaking to journalists after casting his ballots in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.
“It’s a welcome development with the coalition. It’s not the first time we’re seeing this. It’s a welcome development. In every democracy, we must have some level of opposition otherwise we’ll run into a one-party state. But I’m not sure where it would go,” he said.
Earlier this month, leaders of the coalition convened at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where they formally adopted the ADC as their platform to challenge the APC in 2027.
The event saw Ralph Nwosu hand over the party’s membership card to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, who were introduced as the interim national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
Prominent figures in attendance included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party’s Peter Obi; former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi; and other political stakeholders such as Dino Melaye, Dele Momodu, Solomon Dalung, Senator Gabriel Suswam, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Emeka Ihedioha, and retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Several politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) also participated in the meeting.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives cast his vote at Lagos PU 014 on Elizabeth Fowler Memorial High School in the Adeniran Ogunsanya area of Surulere.
He arrived at the polling unit, which has a total of 669 registered voters, at exactly 12:28pm with a retinue of supporters and some government officials, eventually casting his vote at exactly 12:31 pm.
Gbajabiamila described the election as free and fair but lamented the generally low voter turnout.
He said, “So far, I’ve seen peace, I’ve seen quiet, I’ve seen free and fair election. A little bit disappointed about the turnout which is where we need to work on. There is general low turnout from what I’ve seen.
“Perhaps because people don’t understand fully the importance of local government elections, which is even more important than any other election. We need to sensitise our people. We need to educate them about the importance of grassroot government.
“But so far, it’s peaceful and quiet. It’s free and fair. There are no skirmishes anywhere and that’s what we all want for any election.”
