The youth wing of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the opposition coalition led by former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, describing the move as an attempt by “old politicians who ruined Nigeria” to hijack the party.
Musa Matara, spokesman of the ADC youth wing, made this known on Friday during a gathering of party youths.
His comments came in response to Wednesday’s adoption of the ADC as the platform for a new opposition coalition involving Atiku, former Senate President David Mark, ex-minister Rotimi Amaechi, and others aiming to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
At the coalition meeting, a faction of the ADC led by Raph Nwosu handed over the party structure to the new opposition bloc, with David Mark named interim chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as secretary.
Matara, however, rejected the arrangement, saying the party’s authentic structure remains intact and has not been dissolved.
He said the ADC youth wing would not accept the imposition of leadership by individuals “who have no ideology and no legitimacy within the party.”
His words: “The opposition coalition were the people who spoilt Nigerian government in the past.
“They are old politicians who have no ideology. ADC is a party with ideology. We don’t want any new members to hijack the party.”
He described claims by Nwosu that all ADC executives had resigned as false and questioned the legitimacy of the appointments announced by the coalition.
“Who appointed the interim national chairman, secretary, and others? Is it the National Executive Committee or the National Working Committee?
“We are still in ADC; we don’t have any other party other than ADC. They can come and join us, but not to hijack and chase us out of our party,” he stated.
Matara said the party’s youth wing will resist any attempt to hand over the ADC to “retired political actors” under the guise of coalition building.
