The African Democratic Congress has explained the absence of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from Monday’s G100 opposition summit in Abuja.
The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the summit was primarily focused on discussions among political parties rather than presidential candidates.
Abdullahi spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Day Break.
“The summit—the way we understand it, the summit is more about conversation between political parties, rather than conversation among candidates.
“It’s more about exploring cooperation opportunities among political parties. So, it’s not consequential that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was not present,” he said.
Abdullahi said the ADC was adequately represented at the summit, noting that he attended alongside four of the party’s vice chairmen.
“I was there, the party was highly represented—we had like four Vice Chairmen there at the G100 Summit. So, ADC was fully represented, and we participated in the process,” he said.
The summit, held on Monday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, brought together representatives of six opposition political parties to discuss possible areas of cooperation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The meeting was part of ongoing efforts by opposition parties to develop a common framework for collaboration in their bid to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress.
However, Atiku, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, the Allied Peoples Movement and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, were among prominent opposition figures absent from the gathering.
Presidential candidates at the summit included Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party, Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party and Moses Adebisi of the Democratic Leadership Alliance.
The ADC spokesperson also said the party’s participation in the talks was not dependent on its ability to produce a single presidential candidate with other opposition parties.
“We in the African Democratic Congress, we are happy to have this conversation, but everything we are doing is not dependent on whether we are able to produce a single presidential candidate.
“We are saying that on our own, as the ADC, we can defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027. But if we are able to negotiate this cooperation, then it makes the job easier,” he said.
Abdullahi, however, identified the issue of fuel subsidy as a potential ideological challenge to any proposed opposition coalition, saying the ADC remained committed to its position on the matter.
He said the party viewed the return of subsidy as “the ideological pillar” of its strategy to reduce the cost of living.
“So, that’s a question that the promoters of this grand coalition will have to answer, because it will now be: does the other party—like you mentioned the candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi—if he doesn’t believe in the return of subsidy, and we believe in the return of subsidy, then what will be the basis for the merger?
“So for us, it is non-negotiable. We are convinced, our economists are working day and night looking at some of the numbers in greater detail than I can give you—I’m not an economist—but for us, it is something that we are not going back on,” he said.
Abdullahi said the ADC believed it could work with other opposition figures who shared its position on fuel subsidy.
“You’ve heard Olawepo-Hashim saying that he believes in subsidy, giving subsidy to Nigerians; you’ve heard Sowore saying that he believes in giving subsidy to Nigerians—so, if they all agree, those of us who agree on subsidy, that can be a basis for cooperation,” he said.
