2027 Election: APC Identifies ADC’s “Wrong Arrowhead”

• The APC in Lagos said former interior minister Rauf Aregbesola’s criticism of the ruling party “is less a threat” to it
• The APC asserted that by “turning his back” on the APC, a party that “made him”, Aregbesola “has written himself out of history and into the footnotes of infamy”
• APC, the ruling party, vowed that an embarrassing performance awaits the ADC in the 2027 general election

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria.

Ikeja, Lagos state – The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly disagreed with former Osun state governor, Rauf Aregbesola, over claims that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will displace the ruling party in the 2027 election.

Legit.ng recalls that Aregbesola, the ADC national secretary, recently declared that the opposition party will trounce President Bola Tinubu and the APC, just as he urged party members to put aside their personal interests, differences and work towards its success during the 2027 general elections.

APC slams ADC’s Aregbesola

Aregbesola was an ally of President Tinubu and served as minister under late Muhammadu Buhari, whom the incumbent Nigerian leader helped to power in 2015.

But a statement on Sunday, September 14, by Seye Oladejo, the spokesperson of the APC in Lagos state, berated Aregbesola for ‘reducing himself to a wandering tenant in a mushroom opposition party’. The statement was obtained by Legit.ng.

The APC’s statement partly reads:

“From Lagos commissioner to Osun governor and then minister, Aregbe ate, dined, and thrived on the APC table. Today, in a desperate bid for relevance, he is busy setting fire to the same house that made him.

“When Aregbe condemns the APC, he is not damaging us – he is shredding his own résumé. Every attack on APC is an attack on the very foundation of his career. It is akin to a man writing his autobiography with an eraser. Nigerians know better than to take such a self-destructive messenger seriously.”

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Describing Aregbesola as the ADC’s “wrong arrowhead”, the party told the opposition coalition that if it believes the former minister is the one to lead them to electoral glory in the 2027 election, “then they are preparing for a funeral, not a victory”.

It said:

“Putting Aregbe at the front of a charge against APC is a recipe for failure.”

Legit.ng reports that amid the APC’s displeasure towards Aregbesola, the Osun-born politician declared that “the ADC is the way forward”.

At a political meeting on Saturday, September 13, organised by the leadership of the Conscience Forum, where the merger into the ADC was formally declared, and at the mobilisation tour in Badagry, Lagos state, where members of the Labour Party (LP) and the Obidient Movement joined the ADC, Aregbesola cleared “certain misconceptions” about his new party’s ideology.

He said:

“Some have said that the ADC has no ideology. That is not correct. The ADC is a people-centred party, committed to running a mass-based, People-Friendly Government (PFG).”

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Aregbesola added:

“I, therefore, call on all Nigerians to join this party of the people. Life has become short, hard and brutish for our people under the current anti-people government. We cannot continue on this path. The time has come to provide leadership that will secure a better Nigeria for our children and for generations to come.”

INEC recognises ADC’s new leadership

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that ahead of the 2027 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised Senator David Mark and Aregbesola as the national chairman and national secretary, respectively, of the ADC.

INEC equally recognised other interim national officers of the opposition party.

Reacting to INEC’s recognition of the Mark-led ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national spokesperson, expressed his absolute delight.

Source: Legit.ng