A member of the opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has described as false and misleading the report that it has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its preferred political platform.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by a stakeholder of the coalition and former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman in Abuja on Thursday.
The former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum also denied the claim by an online medium that he has been appointed to head the secretariat of the coalition, adding that the reports may have been planted in the media.
Lukman made the clarification in the wake of reports that the coalition had settled for ADC following the gale of defections by opposition leaders and federal lawmakers to the APC in the past few weeks.
Earlier, another key member of the coalition and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, had ruled out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he described as an ‘incurable virus’ in a previous exclusive interview with newsmen.
Lukman, however, assured all that once the negotiation is concluded, a formal announcement will be made by the leaders of the coalition.
According to him, consultations among the relevant stakeholders and opposition figures are progressing well.
The statement read: “The public should disregard the story as it is completely false. No such decision has been taken. Also false is the report that the coalition has adopted the ADC at its meeting on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
“The truth is negotiations among all the coalition leaders are progressing very well, and final decisions about the political platform for the 2027 election will be taken soon.
“Unfortunately, there appears to be some mischief makers promoting and planting stories in the media with the clear aim of sowing seeds of discord among coalition leaders.
“The public and the media should please disregard all these mischievous stories.”
The Punch
