The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s strategy to secure South and North-Central bloc votes for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election as empty.
News360 Info reports that the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, in an interview with Punch, said the APC was living in self-deception, stressing that the party’s declining popularity and poor governance record had alienated it from the people.
Abdullahi noted that even the APC National Chairman had publicly acknowledged that many party governors had failed to deliver good governance despite unprecedented revenue inflows.
He further questioned the ruling party’s confidence in its governors, stressing that many will be unable to convince their people during the election.
He said, “They (APC) are just deluding themselves. They know they have lost the people. That is why they are trying to create the impression that they have control of more states.
“Even their chairman recently said the governors have not governed well and that the people should hold them accountable. These governors have collected more money than most governments in Nigeria’s history, but there is hardly anything to show for it.
“Is it the same governors they are banking on to win the next election? How many of them can stand before their people and convince them where to go?”
Speaking on the wave of defections to the APC, Abdullahi argued that such moves were driven by personal ambition rather than genuine support for the party’s ideals.
He added, “Those governors joining their party know why they are doing so. It is not because they believe in the APC. We are not worried about them at all.”
Similarly, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, accused the APC of attempting to stifle opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that such a strategy threatened Nigeria’s democratic principles.
He stressed that opposition parties play a crucial role in strengthening democratic governance and must not be allowed to die.
He said, “The APC is trying to make sure that many of the opposition parties do not have candidates in the 2027 election, and this is not good for our democracy.
“The ruling party should allow the people to be the ultimate determinant of the party they want in power. The beauty of democracy is having viable, different political parties engaging in healthy competition.”
