UPDATED: ADC, Turaki-led PDP meet, explore 2027 options

We paid a solidarity visit to ADC leaders- Turaki-led PDP
•Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Makinde, and others attend

Leaders of the main opposition parties in the country, the African Democratic Congress(ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), met in Abuja on Wednesday to explore what sources said would amount to plausible exit routes towards 2027.

Sources close to the two parties told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja on Wednesday that the meeting analysed the factional crisis that the ADC fell into and the best option that would enable the parties to field candidates in the 2027 poll.

A source said that leaders of the PDP came originally on a solidarity visit to the ADC and that the two parties later explored ways of working together.

“Let’s just say that we are planning to work together, they came to solidarise with the leadership of the ADC and they equally started exploring options ahead of the 2027 election,” a source close to the ADC said.

Another source close to the PDP also confirmed the development, adding that the ADC was waxing stronger and that all of a sudden, factional crises erupted in the party, and the emerging opposition party has continued to wallow in crises.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki-led PDP, Comrade Ini Ememobong, also said on Wednesday that leaders of the faction, as well as the chairman and members of its Board of Trustees(BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara, went on a solidarity visit to the ADC in view of the emerging cracks within the party.

It was gathered that aside from the solidarity visit, the politicians also held crucial talks to address the ongoing derecognition of the ADC.

The development is coming on the heels of the derecognition of the leadership of the ADC by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The talks came just hours after ADC members protested at the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, opposing the decision of the electoral umpire.

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The meeting, a seeming realignment of forces to counter the INEC and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in view of recent political developments in the country, had personalities from both the PDP and the ADC in attendance.

It was held at the Apo, Abuja, residence of former Senate President, Senator David Mark.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; Mark, who is ADC’s National Chairman; National Secretary of the party, Rauf Aregbesola; former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi; Rotimi Amaechi; Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Senator Aminu Tambuwal -all of the ADC- were at the meeting.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who controls the faction of the PDP chaired by Dr Tanimu Turaki, led some National Working Committee (NWC) members, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP to the meeting.

Those who accompanied Makinde and Turaki included the National Secretary, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; the BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; former governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; and the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong.

As the meeting rose, Makinde, who was mandated to speak on the purpose of the session, gave a brief statement.

According to him, the PDP members were on a “solidarity visit to the leadership of the ADC.”

He said, having observed the latest political developments in the country, including the various judicial pronouncements, Wednesday’s protest and the action INEC took against ADC, there was an urgency to demand what the governor called “clean democratic space” in Nigeria.

He noted: “We have seen what has been happening in the political space, the court, and the protest today.

“We came to commit to a clean democratic space in our country. Thank you.”

Sources further confirmed that the party leaders were consulting widely on the possibility of forming one united stand against the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the 2027 election.

In a statement by Ememebong, spokesman of Turaki-led PDP, said that leaders of the faction paid a solidarity visit to their counterparts in the ADC The statement read: “The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) @OfficialPDPNig paid a solidarity visit to the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over the recent political attacks targeted at Nigeria’s opposition parties.

“During the visit, the PDP acknowledged the growing and shared threat confronting opposition political parties in the country, noting that similar pressures have been experienced by the PDP in recent times. The delegation emphasized the need vigilance in the face of actions capable of undermining democratic principles and political plurality.”

He listed those who attended the meeting on the side of the PDP to include the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, National Chairman of the faction, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Prof. Jerry Gana, Babangida Aliyu, Amb. Taofeek Arapaja,  Hajiya Inna Ciroma,  Gen. Ishaya Bamayi, Rt. Hon. Fred Agbedi, and Comrade Ini Ememobong.

He listed those who attended the meeting on behalf of the ADC to include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator David Mark, Alh. Kashim Imam, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Sen. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Sen. Tunde Ogbeha, Mr Peter Obi, Senator Liyel Imoke, former governors, Rauf Aregbesola and Rotimi Amaechi as wel as the ADC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi.

Ememebong further quoted the leaders of the ADC as saying: “In their response, the ADC leadership expressed appreciation to the PDP for the visit and reiterated the existential threat facing democracy in Nigeria, particularly through the targeted weakening of major opposition parties. Both parties affirmed the need for continued engagement in defence of democratic values and institutions.”