The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Tinubu-led Federal Government of orchestrating a clandestine plot to weaken and destabilise the newly formed opposition coalition in Nigeria.
In a strongly worded press statement released on Monday by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary and National Spokesperson, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC claimed that some of its former state chairmen and key members of its state executive committees from the North East and North West zones have been summoned to a secret meeting with top federal government officials.
“We have credible intelligence that the aim of this meeting is not for national security or peacebuilding. It is to intimidate, coerce, and if possible, co-opt these individuals into a fabricated scheme against the opposition coalition. This is not politics. This is sabotage,” the statement alleged.
According to the ADC, the intention behind the covert engagement is to sow confusion within the party, discredit its emerging leadership, and derail the momentum gained since the coalition’s formation. The party condemned the alleged interference by government operatives, warning that such actions constitute a direct threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
“Let it be clear, this surreptitious dalliance with ADC State Chairpersons by appointees of the federal government—who should be focused on national security priorities—is a coordinated assault on multiparty democracy. This is how one-party states are born—through intimidation,” the statement said.
The ADC further noted that the events of July 1 and 2—referring to the coalition declaration and the unveiling of the ADC as a leading voice in the opposition—appear to have unsettled the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It is now obvious that the Tinubu administration—having lost the trust of the Nigerian people—cannot withstand the pressure of a united and credible opposition. But rather than correct its ways, it has resorted to its old playbook of destabilising opposition parties,” the party stated.
Calling for immediate action, the ADC urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in his appointees and demonstrate a commitment to democratic values.
“The President needs to prove to Nigerians that he is indeed a Democrat. He needs to remind his men that if the Goodluck Jonathan administration were as intolerant and subversive of the opposition, the APC would not have come to power in 2015—and he would not have become President today.”
The ADC vowed to resist all attempts to hijack the opposition and pledged to protect Nigeria’s democratic space using every lawful means.
