APC, ADC Trade Words Over Atiku’s Emergence As Presidential Candidate

Añadido: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]to have you join us on Beyond the Headlines. I am Abosadi Admy.

[00:00:05]Today on the program, we are exploring the intrigues playing out in political parties ahead of the 2027 general election. On Wednesday, former vice president Atikuubaka emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC faction led by Senator David Mark. Atiqua Bubakr emerged as a flag bearer and presidential candidate of the party beating Muhammad Hayatuin and former transportation minister and governor of River State Rotimi Amichi. Now barely 24 hours after his emergence, Atikwa Bubaka has now visited his closest rival in that contest wrote to Yameichi. And uh before then both Messichi and Hayatin had rejected the outcome also primary describing the process as flawed and alleging irregularities in the conduct of the exercise. With this development and emergence of Dume Kachiko from another faction, uh it's considered a major test of the ADC's ability to manage internal disagreement and sustain cohesion as the opposition attempts to position itself as a formidable challenger in the next presidential election. What is the signal for the party going into next year's general election? Joining me to dig beyond the headlines is Chile Ba, ADC chieftain.

[00:01:29]And also joining me is Ado Adidosu, country director of City Boy Movement in Canada. Gentlemen, welcome to the program.

[00:01:38]>> Thank you very much. Good evening viewers.

[00:01:41]>> Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. And back to our Muslim brothers and sisters.

[00:01:46]>> Thank you. Well, let's begin with you Mr. Igbawa. Atiku Abubakar on one hand, Dub Kachiko on the other. Who exactly is a presidential flag bearer of the African Democratic Congress?

[00:02:01]>> Well, thank you very much once again.

[00:02:03]Um, the ADC does not know Dumabi Kachuku because before the coalition adopted ADC as his political platform. The former leadership had already expelled to Kachuku. He went to court and the court dismissed his case. So he's not he's not even a member of the agency. He talk less of being a presidential candidate of the party. So uh we don't consider that as as an issue.

[00:02:34]>> And moving over to Mr. Adidosu, the opposition is actually gearing up to give your party, the AP APC a run for your money. Uh do you feel threatened?

[00:02:46]>> Uh thank you very much. Without sounding in modest or being too confident, I don't see any of the parties or the candidates as being a threat to APC. And it's just not just looking at the party, but looking at the anticidence of each of the candidates of this of the opposition. If we want to really open the the door to actually do an X-ray, you will see that the people who have positioned themselves in the opposition are not men of character and not men of honor that anybody should take seriously politically. And when you look at >> that is your that is your own estimate.

[00:03:26]That's your estimation Mr. Deosu.

[00:03:28]>> That is why I'm a I'm speaking for APC.

[00:03:31]So that is my estimation speaking for APC.

[00:03:35]So in a nutshell what I'm simply saying is a house that is divided against itself how can it present itself as a formidable rival to a party that is fully established and well on ground. You see there is a saying that you don't give what you don't have. How can they give democracy when internally they don't even have that internal democracy amongst themselves? It is on record that ADC has been in litigation. They have litany of court cases since 2020 about party leadership. The fact that the Supreme Court has made a particular pronouncement does not mean the issues affecting ADC leadership has been resolved because the Supreme Court has asked them to go back to the high court that they were running away from. And at the same time there is another faction the uh the current state escos won a case against the current leadership of the party. So when you are when you look at all this they have not even resolved their problems yet they are saying they want to resolve Niger's problem.

[00:04:45]>> Let's get Mr. Aba's reaction. Mr. Baba you have heard Mr. Adidosu talking about your party and the inability to put your house in order. What do you say? Well, I think uh my brother does not understand what a party is and what a faction of a party is. A non-member of a party cannot be a faction of that party. I have said from the beginning that we don't have any member of the party who has a faction.

[00:05:12]Now the only person who claims to be a faction is uh you know is is is is Bellow Gome resigned his appointment as a national officer of the party and then the last executive national executive committee of the party to which he was a member dissolved their neck to which he was a member. So he's not a member of the party. Now uh Deb talks about the party being in litigation. The party is not creating litigations by itself.

[00:05:47]We are very convinced that the ruling APC government out of fear for the opposition has been engineering opposition and litigations against the ADC.

[00:06:02]But what I want to say is that we don't have any cause to bother about what is in the courts. He said the the Supreme Court did not resolve the matter. He only referred us to the court that we run away from. We will not run away from any court. The reality is that we had said by the provisions of section 83 of the electoral act that court has no jurisdiction to try issues of membership I mean leadership of political parties and we felt it was just it would just be a waste of the time of court to allow them to proceed but the Supreme Court said no that notwithstanding don't make sin yourself go back and let the court decide as such Remember the federal high court did not make any pronouncements. What Balagi demanded was that he should be given a judgment expert and the court said no this is a contentious matter. It cannot be decided decided expert. So put the other party on notice and when the ADC was put on notice it's reply to the effect that since you don't have jurisdiction why would you bother yourself trying this matter? But now the Supreme Court has said the EDC should go back to the Federal High Court. There's nothing unusual about that. I'm a legal practitioner. I know what I'm talking about. So those who from outside are feeling that because the matter was referred to the federal high court, there is a death sentence completely uninformed about the realities of the matter.

[00:07:33]>> ADC has no fears about the court issu I mean court cases that are being engineered against it at all.

[00:07:39]>> All right, let's quickly get reaction.

[00:07:41]Mr. Adosu's reaction. You have alleged Mr. I'm sure you heard that he's alleged that your party is actually engineering the litany of court cases within the ADC. How do you respond?

[00:07:54]>> Honestly, I feel sorry for Mr. Ibawa for that statement he made. Of course, a bad craftsman will always blame his tools and not himself. So, what do you expect from a man Mr. Talking about Mr. I remember in 2010 he moved a motion on the floor of the house of representatives against some members Gino Mele who they are now in the same camp and Austinu these were these people are seen to be progressives but he moved a motion for their suspension but today they're in the same party so when you have a party of strange bed fellows definitely there will be incoh coherence and there will be lack of strategy in their approach to issues. It can only be said that when they have found nothing to hold on to, they will need to blame the ruling party. Is it the ruling party that went to court in 2020 that the leadership of Rafosu ex expired after 8 years. The party of the the constitution of the party. Slimpy says you can only be elected for two times for four years two times as the chairman of the party and it was the same Rafu Mosu that was that was handing over to David Mark and Camp and all of them. you when you do not have a local standard you cannot take action in some cases because you cannot put something on top of nothing I like the fact that is a lawyer because often times it is known that lawyers speak from both sides of the mouth because we are talking about logic it's all about logic but when you cannot have evidence can you Mr. Ibawa, can you in good conscience as a senior politician, as a senior political figure, show evidence that APC is in instigating the crisis in your party? You cannot bring a dead horse to a race and expect that dead horse to meet up with a horse that is alive and strong.

[00:10:13]>> Let's get reactions and fix your problems. Let's get let's get >> this lockown.

[00:10:20]>> I hear you Mr. So let's Mr. Guawa respond to this please. What do you say Mr. >> Thank you regarding evidence that the ruling party is instigating litigations and crisis in the party. It is out there in the public domain. The chief of the president said it. The president himself said it. And >> what did they say? also invited the Senate President to do the job of creating crisis within the opposition parties. These things are in the public domain. I don't need to bring them up again. That is one.

[00:10:54]Sorry, can I talk please? justence just as I'm listening to you in silence by your place. He he spoke about me raising a motion against dinoai it was on a matter of principle and if I was able to successfully move that motion and that principle was established it does not mean that I have personal anything personal against dinolaya if afterwards he is being the kind of character that we can work together I don't see how our presidents in a party together makes the party of any problem so I think that is not a relevant reference All right, gentlemen. We need to take a quick break. When we return from that break, we'll take it from where we start. Please stay with us, everyone.

[00:12:02]but this is beyond the headlines. Thank you very much. We're talking political parties and their affairs ahead of the 2027 general election. And I have chieftains of the All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Congress as my guest Chilea for the ADC and Ado Adus for the APC. Gentlemen, thank you for staying the course. Let me come to you now Mr. Adusu. You spoke earlier about the issue of uh you you alleged and accused the ADC of being a marriage of a trained bed fellows. But if you look at the APC which in recent time has also welcomed uh thousands of people from the opposition party into it fold uh you know one begins to wonder on what basis are they joining. Is it about ideology or what exactly does that also not translate to uh have being a marriage of uh uh strange bed fellows in the APC?

[00:12:55]>> Thank you very much. But but before I take this particular question, there was a rider that you posited that was not responded to. When Mr. Iguawa said the chief of staff to the president made the statement and the president also made a statement, he could not allude to those statement that were made. If I am in opposition, I want him to be honest not just to himself but to the people he leads and he hopes to lead in future. We should not be as making assumptions or be harvesting things from the from the from the cloud.

[00:13:37]This is not we are not talking about it that everything goes you store things in the cloud. This should be verifiable for you to actually present those statement and I can give you the context in which those statements were made if they were made at all. But by and large it is not the responsibility of any party to help another party to stabilize itself. I will be doing myself a disservice to help you put your house in order. They say in warfare all is fair. If the way America is bombarding Iran today is just like Iran or is America itself trying to strengthen Iran against itself or Iran trying to give room for Israel to be able to attack it the more if as an opposition you are in opposition to APC I'm in opposition to you so we are both opposition to one another. If you are in opposition to me and I see something that will give me hedge over you, I will emphasize it. It is simple logic. We need to appreciate that fact. It is not the responsibility of the president or the chief of staff to the president to tell you how to put your house in order. As senior politicians that you all are, you should be able to fix your house. That is just to help you. I've given you some tidbits. Probably you pay me for consultation. You pay my consultancy fee later for ask for telling you what you need to do.

[00:15:09]I'll pray.

[00:15:11]>> I hear you, Mr. Question. Now, let me address your question, boss.

[00:15:16]>> So, you haven't responded to that just yet.

[00:15:19]>> You have just 30 seconds to do that, please.

[00:15:22]>> Okay. When you're talking some people moved from part from uh from other parties to APC, that is is that not a case of strange bed fellows? I would say certainly not. Why did I say certainly not? Some people moved out of PDP because PDP had become a sinking ship and PDP became a sinking ship as a result of the inaordinate ambition of a particular politician in the person of Atiku Abuaka. It is on record that Abdi Abbaka has been running for the office of the president since 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 and now 2027. The world is not made for one individual and it is unfortunate that those who are egging Atiku Abubaka on, they have seen him as a cash cow that they can milk. They are not being fair to the 79year-old man who should be allowed to take his rest.

[00:16:24]Yeah, >> Mr. But he has a right. He has a right I I want to believe to contest whenever he chooses to. But let me come to Mr. Abawa very quickly. Articobaka has now emerged uh presidential candidate and flag bearer of the AD at least one arm of the ADC as we know it. What really are his chances in 2027 considering the caliber of candidates he will be contesting against?

[00:16:50]Well, thank you very much. First of all, let me assure that if his advice is worth the while, I will pay for it. I don't mind paying. Uh secondly, he should read American history about people who contested presidency and one of the I won't mention his name. I don't want to be paid for anything, but I should go and check the history of America. people who contested for presidency. One of them how many times he contested before he won. So contesting several times is not a crime and it's nothing new uh in political uh you know history. Now what are the chances of Aikwa Bubakar in the 2027 election which is the main question. I'd like to say that the chances of the ADC are very very bright. Now this is a party which is building itself as a formidable party with a resounding political ideology with a policy document and with an ethical document which will govern those who will be elected on this platform. So we're not coming like another party that that just wants to present itself as a special purpose vehicle for the purposes of winning an election. If I may quickly but in Mr. If I may quickly but in please. You spoke about political ideology. What is this ideology?

[00:18:06]>> The ideology of the of the ADC is people first.

[00:18:12]It's a very large document which we are listening to releasing to the public in due course. But the major issue is that the people first and we're talking about a government that has failed wolffully.

[00:18:27]They have a baggage that Nigerians cry about every day. Hibu himself said if he doesn't settle the problem of electricity in Nigeria, nobody should vote him again. So he has voted himself out already because he has failed in that regard.

[00:18:43]>> Was that statement not within a certain >> of security of lives and property? He has failed in the economy. He has failed in transparency. He has failed in financial management by going abing all the time. So we we're coming against a government that has a huge baggage of poor governance and we're very confident that we're going to deal with that and the people know it. We just need to remind them and I'm assuring my brother that well by the time 2027 comes and the election is done and dusted he will discover the ADC is in the villa. Thank you >> Mr. Adosu. Do you look forward to seeing the ADC and especially at Tika Bubakar in the villa in 2027? You know, >> you know, I'm laughing so hard. I love your optimism. I love your optimism, Mr. Iguawa. It's good because even the blind often times believe he sees because a one a oneeyed man thinks he sees everything with his one eye. That is the optimism that you are having, which I don't blame you for. Of course, you need to ginger article that he has hopes. But what kind of hope does a man who said in 2019 when he was being interviewed by Kabir Hamemed that and I quote are my friends not supposed to be enriched. Is that the kind of man you want to handle the reigns of power to in Nigeria? Or the man that Aubjo his former boss described and I said is prone to poor that describe article as disloyer prone to poor judgment and lacking the ability to consistently tell the tr tell the truth and stick to the truth. He also went further to say actu has a deep propensity for corruption. Is that the kind of man you want Nigeria to bring into the saddle? No. Nigeria in 2023, Artiku while addressing his base in the north in Kaduna said the person Nigeria needs is a northerner and that he represents that north that should be that north and the northerner that the north should elect that is a politics of tribe and clan. Is that the kind of man you want in the villa to rep to be ruling Nigeria? Or do you want a man that went ahead to hire a lobbyist in the United States of America in the in the person of Calvon Barton Monk of New York LLC. It is also on record that this lobbying firm actually belongs to a man who is of the southeastern extraction who was also lobbying for IPO at a point and who was also the first lobbying for the so-called Christian genocide. Is that the kind of man who does not have loyalty to the country? In 2022, I did an interview and I said Aiku is an ATMA to the Niger political space because it does not have the capacity. What are the political or economic anticidence of article this we're wrapping up the conversation given the when he was given the chairmanship of the privatization committee he sold Nigeria commonwealth >> let me come in very quickly Mr. >> Niger Nigerian youth know we don't have a lot of time I am the umpire here so please allow me coming and because we're wrapping up Mr. Yes, I'm sure you've heard everything that he said, but let's talk some more. Uh indeed, what are the chances of Atiku Bubaka looking at his anticedent and considering the unspoken uh agreement that we should have a south and then a north or a north and then a southern presidency in Nigeria. You have just about 30 45 seconds to respond to that.

[00:22:46]>> Yeah, let me first respond to what my brother Dubai said. I think it is very unfortunate to bring the character of the persons who are discussing.

[00:22:56]If we bring the character of Tinibu to a television discussion, I think you are doing him great disservice because all the thing negative things you seek to say about Abuakar Tibu has 10 times more.

[00:23:11]Everything about him has a problem. But he's my president. At least he's sitting in the presidency. I don't want to go further but I want to say that if they are to start election on the basis of personal character Tibu is not qualified to even ask for one vote from Nigerians.

[00:23:27]That's one. Secondly, Aiua Abubakar has had an experience and all those allegations that are being brought about him are not proven in any place. He has been around. He has not run away. Nobody has been able to prove anything against him. So they are just allegations brought about in the social media or in the media to impugn his character but nobody has taken him to court on those matters. So if anybody has evidence this is the time take him to court and let us hear what the court says. Now on the issue of zoning, the party decided that as a new party to the political scene, they would allow an open playing field for all of his members that had ambition to be president of Nigeria. And that's why in the contest you had Roimi from the south, you had hay to from the north and you had article from the north and the people in the course of voting have overwhelmingly voted for uh you know for Antiqua Bubakar. Now it doesn't mean that Roim is not qualified is eminently qualified to be president of Nigeria.

[00:24:43]>> All right Mr. because there is only one seat. You can only elect one person at a time. So I want to say that has no baggage that should deter us or should cause us to have any problems.

[00:24:56]Chances are very very bright.

[00:24:59]>> Well 2027 would reveal what Nigerians have decided to do. Gentlemen, it's been an honor having you both uh on the program. Chile ba is a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress and Adidos who is country director City boy movement Canada. Thank you so much for your time on beyond the headlines.

[00:25:18]>> Thank you very much for having me and may Nigeria continue to succeed and may no succeed.

[00:25:25]>> Thank you so much and that really is our show. Yes. What a repeat broadcast tonight at midnight and at 6 a.m.